Avatar: The Legend of Zero
by Naruto Takani
Summary: The world is in peril, and this time powers are at work that history has never seen. But he is Zero, and he save this world so that even the Avatar, his sister can have a peaceful life. However, the Avatar might just be the greatest foe in Zero's way... Inspired by 'Element of Freedom'.
1. The Birth of Legends

**Chapter 1**

This was a bad day; no it was horrible today for Duōyí. It was the most horrible day in Duōyí's admittedly short life. His sister was being taken away. The day he promised that one day, he would be able to protect his sister.

On a hill the two figures overlooked the scene from afar in the night air, one male one female.

"So this is okay with you?" the female asked her white hair blending with the falling snow.

"I am in the middle of an frozen wasteland! I am _not_ okay with this!" the male snapped at his companion.

"That wasn't what I meant and you know it!" the female replied in irritation. "Just look." She nodded to three white-robed adults were dragging a struggling girl occasionally flinging fire, earth, or water at the adults.

The male figured sighed into the icy wind. "Even I can agree that the Order of the White Lotus has the right and duty to train and raise the Avatar. And to that end, the more control they have over her development the easier it will be to train her."

There was a shout of defiance and that snapped their attention back to the child, turning their gaze from the departing group to the girls' family. The mother and father stood in the doorway of their igloo home, the man and woman holding each other in regretful acceptance. But the boy…

The six-year-old stood apart from his parents, just outside the doorway in the frenzied storm as if he didn't feel the stinging cold through his light fur coat. His shoulders were shaking, hands clenched into tight fists at his sides, and face scrunched up in anger. But it was his eyes…

Even at a distance it was obvious, a fire, determination and hatred, practically radiating from him. He shouted again but the storm over took the words before they could reach the observer's ears. The words had no problem reaching the men and woman carrying away his sister though and one of the men stepped away from the group, the taller man wearing spectacles, leaving the other two with having to double their efforts containing the girl. The man took a few steps forward and shot his arm out towards the boy, a blast of fire coming from his fist.

The fire landed at the boys' feet and he fell back with a cry of fear, the snow already melting and turning to steam as his mother and father rushed to gather him up in their arms and flee to the safety of their snow built home.

"It's times like these I'm really glad I never became a full-fledged member of the Order." The male observer said walking back to the small home that was warmer inside.

The female continued watching for bit longer before her heart stopped for a moment. The boy turned to where they were watching. They had no need to hide from the white-cloaked adults in the middle of the storm. They were too far away and hidden by the storm. Without even a lantern to light the way, they were invisible with only they're inhuman eyes to guide them. And this boy looked right at her!

Even as the firebender joined his companions the boy looked at them all the same. In fact he was completely ignoring his parents rushing him inside their igloo house.

"Hey, what is the boy's name?" the female figured asked.

"He's a little young for you." The male grumped.

"His. Name." The female said dangerously.

"I don't know," the male said, "but I intend to find out." Turning to female figure he finished with a roar, "BUT NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF A STUPID BLIZZARD!"

The female sighed; the male figure always had a problem with the cold but no matter. They had accepted their fates long ago, who knows? Maybe they should go there separate ways for a few decades… Either way, the look of that boy's face was too familiar for the female to get out of her head. It was so like someone that there was no way the child would not amount to something. Her brother had that face after all.

0-0-0

_The United Republic of Nations, more commonly known as the United Republic, is a sovereign state created by Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko after the end of the Hundred Year War. It was formed from the earliest Fire Nation colonies established in the western Earth Kingdom, and was created to serve as a society where benders and non-benders from all four nations could live and thrive together in peace and harmony. The United Republic is known for having a unique culture, which was shaped by immigration and a technological revolution._

_The capital of the United Republic is Republic City, a large, modern metropolis located on the shores of Yue Bay. From there, a political organization consisting of one representative from each nation, the United Republic Council, governed the republic._

_This fifth nation would be a society where anyone from around the world would be able to live, governed by a council of five citizens representing each of the nations, with two representing the separate Water Tribes. They named this new republic the United Republic of Nations and established Republic City, located in the northwestern Earth Kingdom, as its capital._

_However, the capital began to experience demographic and political problems as a direct consequence of its nature as a large city. Organized crime became rampant, culminating in Yakone's attempt to take over the city through his criminal empire. Yakone used the forbidden art of bloodbending to commit his crimes and torment the citizens of Republic City before he had his bending removed by Avatar Aang in 128 ASC. Forty-two years later, the city also began facing issues with wealth inequality among the citizens. _

_This once proud city is now divided more than ever, where might is right, and bending is power… power to oppress those who lack the natural advantage of wielding an element… here is the backdrop of our story…_

0-0-0

Duōyí watched the protester yell into his megaphone, telling the crowd around him about the glory of Amon and how they could overthrow the "corrupt bending establishment" by joining with him and the Equalist's. He separated from the crowd and started walking away when the protester began listing the injustices and oppression's of the current government leaders and law makers, the United Republic Council with its current all bender membership, was imposing on the non-bending populace both directly and indirectly.

He walked until he could barely hear the protesters' voice, even with it amplified by the megaphone, and stopped on one of the many bridges that crisscrossed the small rivers in the Republic City Park. Duōyí leaned over the rails and watched a group of homeless men and women scour the trash cans for food or items of value not far from a pair of men, donned in fine suits with canes, having a heated discussion about something near an ornate fountain. When he gazed up to the sky he could see one of the ever-present Metal Bending Police airships that continually circled the city, you couldn't look any direction without seeing at least one of them hovering above the city. He dropped his gaze, not wanting to watch as an airship responded to some trouble and the metal benders descended, to the streaming water below him, looking into his own reflection.

He had the light brown skin that marked his Water Tribe descent even though he wore none of the traditional blue fur clothing. Something he learned very quickly in his year of living in Republic City, do not look like an immigrant from any nation; the city wasn't as welcoming as the many people that arrived here every day believed.

Dress like you've always lived here in the local fashions, act like it by adopting their mannerisms, and even talk like it, losing your native tongue to only private moments. Assimilate enough and things got a little easier for you. He may get ugly stares from the occasional local who saw through his act and his fellow Water Tribe members but at least that didn't always end with getting his ass kicked and thrown out of stores at the slightest provocation by xenophobic owners. Once was enough.

He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair and closed his eyes, cutting out the reflection of his violet irises, a trait he shared with a grandfather some generations ago his mother always said. Republic City wasn't what he thought it would be like. Before he arrived a year ago he had to actively fight with his parents to be able to leave home. They wanted him to stay, to take up the family business, only the Souther Water Tribe Chief was not an inherited position, they wanted him to support the tribe but mostly to help keep an eye on his sister. He scoffed at the mere idea of that.

As much as it pained him to admit it Korra didn't need anyone to look out for her, much less her older brother who unlike the rest of their family couldn't even bend. She hadn't needed him the second the Order of the White Lotus confirmed her claim to Avatar, after that they took care of everything. They provided teachers, both for bending and academic, food, and shelter, giving it to her simply because she was the Avatar and would eventually have to throw her life on the line for the good of th-. He sighed and opened his eyes, finding he had dug his nails into the wood of railings with a vice grip. He tended to do that when he thought of the White Lotus. Or of Korra's duties as the Avatar.

It wouldn't do any good thinking like that; she was his little sister and the Avatar. It didn't matter that she barely knew that she had a brother from they few times they could see each other. She would restore balance to the world from whatever crises eventually threatened it and then live the rest of her life in the lap of luxury. He hoped, by spirits he hoped. But she was at the South Pole, and he was here, watching a homeless man get yelled at by the two formerly arguing so-called businessmen.

He had drifted off so he didn't see how the argument started, probably because the homeless man got to close to the men than they could tolerate. But he could see where it was going. The men had combined their former bitterness for each other on the man, assaulting him verbally with cruel insults ranging from his perceived lack of work ethic from his homelessness, his unkempt state of dress, and that his mother was most likely a diseased woman of ill repute. The bum stood up to most of this, giving a visible wince at the mother comment, and tried to apologize for his incursion on their precious personal space. The men would have none of it.

The verbal assault had intensified and now the men were threatening him with their canes, raising them in the air as if they were prepared to beat him. As luck would have it they didn't need to, the commotion had alerted a nearby police officer. He didn't wear the metal suit of the Metal Bending units, so he either hadn't qualified for them, was a water or firebender, or, most likely, wasn't a bender at all. Not that he could probably fit into one given the size of his stomach, the park did not need the best the police force to patrol it apparently.

When the portly officer arrived he listened to the complaints of the two businessmen, who had calmed down rather quickly and spoke with a well-educated vocabulary of the grievous crimes committed by the bum. They also nonchalantly spoke of their stature in Republic City and the businesses and companies they owned or worked for, ones that contributed greatly to the city police's funding. The officer, hearing what he needed to hear, turned towards the bum and pulled out a set of handcuffs and told the bum to put his hands behind his back.

The homeless man put his hands up and started to back away, eyes scanning for anyone to help him. The crowd of people just watched silently and the group of other homeless men and women had scattered long ago, he was alone in this fight. When the officer pulled out his truncheon and tried to grab the bum he jumped back out of reach and bolted, trying to make it to the safety of the more wooded areas of the park. He didn't make it three feet before one of the business men raised his foot in the air and brought his shoe crashing down, causing a pillar of stone to shoot out of the paved ground and smash the bum in the gut. Falling to the ground and gasping for air he held his crushed stomach as he tried to stand back up…

Only to have the police officers truncheon smash in the back of his head.

The bum fell to the ground again and tried to crawl away when the officer brought the truncheon down again and again, the blows crushing the man's already weak body. Duōyí looked at the businessmen, who stood next to each other and watched the spectacle with pleased little smiles. He watched the crowd of people, parents pulling their children away from the scene and people just watching in stunned silence. He looked at the officer, whose face was twisted in anger with eyes that hinted of euphoria. Then he looked at the bum, who was looking at him, with eyes pleading for help. And Duōyí was distantly aware that his hands were gripping the bridge's rail harder than ever and that it was starting to splinter and cut into his palm.

By the time the police officer had stopped and the bum was finally cuffed and taken away, the crowd having dispersed and the men in their fine suits returned to their conversation, this time remaining civil and calm, Duōyí was long gone, having turned his back on the poor bum. And over in the distance, the ever-present police airships hovering in the sky, you could hear a protester speaking of equality.

0-0-0

"Yo D-man!" a voice called out to him from the back of the busy bar he had entered. Duōyí looked to the speaker of the voice, a man in a sharp red suit and a bottle of saké in his hand named Nezumi. He had slicked back black hair that was barely reaching the nape of his neck and trimmed goatee with green eyes, all in all it hinted of mixed Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom descent. It suited him for Republic City rather well. He got out of his seat in the back of the bar and made his way through the crowd, the patrons barely noticing him, their interest on the Probending game on the radio above the bar.

"Nezumi." Duōyí said tightly, Nezumi was in with some of the smaller time gangs in the city, acting as a sort of broker and negotiator between them along with providing occasional... goods for purchase. When he could safely get his hands on it. It wasn't a good idea to get too comfortable with him, even with the business you may have done in the past. "Is there a reason you asked for me?" Especially when you get a message saying he wants a meeting.

"Oh don't get like that D-man, you ain't got nothing to be afraid of. I just want to offer you a job." He said putting an arm around Duōyí's shoulders and leading him to his table in the back, several people in the crowd grudgingly parting to let them pass.

"Last time I did a job for you I nearly got burned alive so tell me _why_ I should even listen to you?" Duōyí asked as he sat down in Nezumi's booth.

"Now D, how was I supposed to know that those Agni Kai boys would be waiting for us?" He replied smoothly as he lit a cigarette, "And _you _were the reason that any of us got out of that alive. When you had Kai uproot the support of that scaffolding so it fell on those bastards? Beautiful." He smiled as he took a drink from his glass of saké.

"It was obvious; anyone could have come to that decision." Duōyí responded, a roar going up in the bar at something happening over the radio. Seemed some people just lost a few bets.

"Yeah well no one else did. You took control and utterly annihilated those sons of eagle-wolves and we got out of their completely fine. Well, more or less." He muttered while brushing his hand over the side his head to a small spot where his hair covered up a small patch of skin that had the hair permanently burned away.

"What do you want Nezumi?" Duōyí asked again sighing. Nezumi leaned forward so no one could hear him and Duōyí did the same.

"There's a shipment coming into the port tomorrow night, some of the smaller gangs have decided to team up and raid it." Duōyí patiently waited for him to elaborate. "And it's a military sh-, now wait! Wait!" But he wouldn't listen and started to get up out of his seat. But a strong arm forced him back down, shooting out of out of the crowd. He glared at the beast of a man who held him down, his head bald with piercing blue eyes and arms thick and covered with tattoos of dragons fighting.

"Now listen D, this isn't as stupid as it sounds. I'm relying on good information here." Nezumi said, this time not being the nice guy he was a few moments ago, now he was the guy that negotiated deals between people who intimidate and killed for a living. "I know what we're going to steal, where it is, how many guards there are going to be around it, and the layout of ship and neighborhood. All I need is someone who can turn all that information into perfection and to make those bickering idiots fight like soldiers if it goes to hell." He leaned back and smiled, it was rather cruel. "And I know that you're hurting for money ever since the nobles and big wigs stopped falling for your Pai Sho games."

Duōyí glared at him and asked, "So you need a mastermind? And what information do you have exactly?" If he was lucky maybe this wasn't nearly as dangerous as he thought.

"The Unagi is a freighter, given a new paint job and a fancy crest on its side so they can call it a military ship." Nezumi began taking a sip from his glass. "It's transporting supplies out of the Mid-Western Earth Kingdom, or the first Southern Trust Territory really. You know Senlin? From the stories about Avatar Aang, had some weird panda demon or whatever?" Nezumi asked while snubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Hei Bai. It was a spirit that guarded the forest and took out its anger on the village when the forest was burned down by the Fire Nation." Duōyí answered, drawing on his better knowledge of Avatar Aang's journeys. Korra would probably know the details better; she had a teacher dedicated to past Avatar's after all. "If this is all you have, I'm not impressed."

"There's a rumor going around that it's not there anymore, they were stirring up trouble after our boys took back Haru Fortress during that little coup they had a few months back remember? When the province got made into a Trust Territory until they could sort themselves out?" Nezumi asked, gesturing to the waitress to bring another round. "Anyway, now that Senlin is gone the way of Liang Jiang locals got the idea and are a lot calmer, so the military is sending back some of their weapons and all that other good stuff to reinforce the Home Territories." He stopped talking when the waitress arrived with a new bottle of saké. Duōyí refused to order his own drink and they waited until she was back in the noisy crowd before he continued. "I got it on good information from a reliable source that the captain is going to let the crew out on shore leave for the night before they start unloading the next morning, leaving only a skeleton crew to guard it."

"And _who_ is this reliable source?" Duōyí questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"_A reliable source_." Nezumi repeated with emphasize and scowled when Duōyí frowned at him. "Oh don't give me that, you got bills and protection money you owe just like everybody else. This job will get you enough to put you on easy street for months, even with your high tastes."

"Only if nothing goes wrong, then I end up in a Untied Republic prison. I would prefer to have children someday. Grand theft is a big thing on its own, but theft of military property can be prosecuted as Insurrection and Treason, we'll be executed!" Duōyí growled out.

"They only fix ya if you have a lot of charges or are a repeat offender, then they think something must be wrong with you and its better if you don't spread it." Nezumi replied simply, familiar with the threat of sterilization for his numerous crimes if they ever came to light.

"Or if you do something as colossally stupid as try to rob a military vessel!" Duōyí said in a harsh whisper. "Then they kill you! So stop acting like sterilization is the worst that could happen! Hell some doctors do that to non-benders if they just go to them for treatment!"

"I know, don't remind me." Nezumi said as he stirred in his seat. "I got this rash on my boys and I'm not risking getting them cut off or injecting me with something while they treat it." Duōyí gave a disgusted noise and Nezumi narrowed his eyes. "What do you care anyway? I thought you Water Tribe got all your medicine from the sea or something, or that you all prayed to the moon and ocean until you were healthy."

Duōyí was able to fight his rising frustration, _'This is going nowhere.'_ He decided and sighed before looking Nezumi straight in the eye, violet locking with his brown. "You haven't done a spectacular job of convincing me this isn't a horrible idea."

"Do your job right and nothing will go wrong. Besides, what are you afraid of D-man? No metal bender can react fast enough to stop that... "Shopkeepers Special" I sold ya." He argued with a whisper indicating towards Duōyí's coat pocket, where he kept the gun that was sold to him a couple of days ago.

Duōyí didn't say anything for a while, silently weighing his options. Very few places were willing to hire non-benders, preferring to hire benders with abilities that meant they didn't need to buy any special equipment or just because they didn't want to, and the few that would didn't pay well. The rich men and women he usually played at Pai Sho were no longer becoming as regular and it was getting harder and harder to pay rent, his bills, and weekly protection to the local gangs and corrupt cops. He wasn't physically fit enough to stand a chance against another non-bender, let alone a member of the bending gangs, and he wasn't about to risk a job in the factories, where men, women, and children would sometimes lose their fingers and only return home after slavish hours. And he _had_ done these sorts of things before, radioing orders and conducting escape plans from locations usually far away to hide his identity. Usually with Nezumi too.

"Alright, I'll do it." He resigned but held up a finger to stop Nezumi's acceptance. "But I want double my usual rate." Nezumi's eyes narrowed at that and he took a sip of his sake.

"Shit, D-man if you wanted to cod me you could have just bought me dinner and a few more drinks." Nezumi said "But fine, you get double." He gulped down the rest of his glass. "Meet me at our usual spot tomorrow afternoon; I got to go over something's with you before we start." He motioned to the tattooed guard to let Duōyí up.

"Oh and D?" He said as he got out of his seat, "Why did you want that thing anyway? Those are very hot items and you've never been one to try to attract attention. You were yelling about the job gettin' your boys cut off but if they find you with one they're gonna do it for sure." He said with the closest thing towards concern. If it was for him or for his planning abilities Duōyí couldn't be sure but the safe bet would be on the latter. Nezumi would be in a very bad spot if his mastermind weren't in his right mind anymore.

Duōyí 's hand moved to his coat pocket, feeling the shape of his gun, a six-shot Ryû-Revolver with the 15 fen-rounds. The weapons known as guns were an incredible evolution to combat. There weakness was their stamina, and the lack of effect at armored targets. Either way, guns were now contraband for civilians to have and hard to come by. He thought of homeless man getting beaten by police officer at the behest of the businessmen. How defenseless he was against the man's bending and the portly officer and how he couldn't fight back.

But Duōyícould fight now. He had something that would give him a fighting chance to defend himself if he ever got into that situation. Despite the hefty fee, it was well worth the price if he was going to face a dangerous situation.

And he wouldn't lie down and take it.

"Just a little something to even the odds." He said and walked away, not looking back at Nezumi to see the cautious look on his face.

0-0-0

Saikhan had been a captain in the Metal Bending Police Force for twenty years now, half of his life. He had started out like most by walking beats throughout the city, patrolling in squad cars while the airships hovered above, and had plowed through enough red tape to choke a platypus bear. All the while he had refined his earth bending and later metal bending under the watchful eye of his close friend Lin Beifong. He sighed at the thought of the Chief. He and Lin had… disagreements on how certain aspects of crime should be handled among other things.

He respected her immensely and he wouldn't be half the metal bender he was today if it wasn't for the tutorship she could spare. But she was to determined to nail every criminal she could find and refused to try to play nice with the Council. She wouldn't let big fish get away, even if it meant catching a lot of smaller ones and refused to even try to strike deals with the local criminal elements, despite the advantages it would bring. Even criminals had honor and they would turn in those among them who went too far. For the right price of course.

So unlike the Chief he made deals with local gangs, buying information, overlooking operations, and helping them out of trouble when he could. And unlike the Chief he attended the Council parties of his own free will, mingling with the nobles, politicians, and businessmen of the city with a smile on his face, making idle conversation and listening to their uninformed views and ideas on the security of Republic City. Lin would complain of the parties constantly, often standing in a corner and glaring at anyone who dared to approach her. She claimed that she didn't need to be liked to do her job that the upper class of the city did nothing but moan and complain and should let them do their work in peace.

He respectfully disagreed. Which is why he was currently waiting to be let into a meeting with Councilman Tarrlok.

Saikhan was idly staring at one of the many painting that decorated the marble hallways of City Hall in an attempt to not seem bored. It was the final moment of Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Ozai's deciding battle, the young Avatar sealing the Fire Lord's bending away forever. It was a nice piece he supposed, the glow from their eyes and mouths due to Avatar Aang's energy bending was very well done, but he was more partial to landscapes.

"Councilman Tarrlok will see you now." The council page announced, poking his head out of councilman's office. Saikhan got up from the seat he was occupying and followed the page, an old tiny man with a very high-pitched voice, into the councilman's office. Tarrlok was standing behind his desk, his back to the elaborate waterfall decoration of Tui and La circling each other that glimmered in the light of the morning sun, and had a pleasant smile on his face when Saikhan entered the room. Saikhan removed his hat and shook his hand when they got close enough, Tarrlok walking to meet him half way.

"Ah Captain Saikhan, thank you for meeting me on such short notice," the councilman greeted smoothly, "how are your wife and boys?"

"Fine Councilman and it's no problem." Saikhan replied taking a seat in front of Tarrlok's desk.

"Good, good." The councilman said, sitting down behind his desk. "Would you please leave us?" Tarrlok asked the council page.

"Of course sir." The page bowed and quietly left the room. Tarrlok waited a second after the page had left before opening a desk drawer and pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

"Do you smoke Captain?" Tarrlok asked, offering the pack to Saikhan.

"No, but thank you Sir." Saikhan declined. Tarrlok merely put the pack away and lit his own with a match. He inhaled and let out a plume of smoke; Saikhan managed to resist coughing, and gazed out at Republic City.

"Tell me," Tarrlok asked after a moment, "how difficult would it be to arrange some additional security for the docks tonight, without Chief Beifong finding out about it?"

Saikhan kept a straight face at the question, while his mind raced with possible implications and motives, "The Chief personally oversees all deployments and patrols in the city and she requires a constant stream of reports on their current activity, if any fail to report another will be sent to find out why." Saikhan explained, watching Tarrlok's eyes narrow, "But, while she will know eventually, I can pull strings so she doesn't find out right away." Tarrlok smiled.

"That will do." He tapped the ashes from his cigarette into the ashtray and opened another drawer pulling out a file. He removed a photo of a large ship, bearing the symbol of the United Republic Navy on its side. "That is "The Unagi", do not let the name fool you, it is no more fierce than any other freighter. It's cargo on the other hand…" He pulled another photo from the file, a picture of a large circular capsule with valves and pumps along the top.

"What is this?" Saikhan asked, studying the device for any discriminating marks. Tarrlok leaned forward and stippled his hands in front of his face.

"_That,_ Captain Saikhan is a capsule filled with a poison gas."

0-0-0

Duōyí trudged along to the place Nezumi told him to meet, maneuvering through the late afternoon foot-traffic with practiced ease. The meeting place was another bar, this one more suppressed than the other, the few patrons sitting quietly to themselves sipping their drinks. The owner, a bear of a man with a heavily scarred face, was idly cleaning a glass and giving Duōyí the evil eye as he walked into the back. He moved past the dilapidated bathroom and stopped in front of a wall in the hallway. He raised his hand and knocked three times in a synchronized pattern. A panel opened in the wall and a pair of green eyes glared at him.

"What do you want?" the man demanded on the other side of the door with a gruff voice.

"I'm here to see Nezumi…" Duōyí trailed off as the eyes just continued to glare at him. "He's expecting me, my name is Duōyí…" he added, hoping that it would be enough. However, with the lack of positive response Duōyí sighed and rolled his eyes. "D-man?" he tried again.

The eyes on the other side of the door lit up in recognition and Duōyí mentally cursed Nezumi.

"Ah," the man said, "D-man! Nezumi said you'd be showin' up! Give me a second." The panel snapped shut and a series of clicks followed. Soon an entire doorway appeared as wall section slid open, the guard nodded his head and motioned towards the revealed hallway. "Come on in."

Duōyí stepped past the guard and bumbled down the dark corridor until he reached a door. He swung the door open and walked into the hidden gambling den.

The patrons all turned to look when the door opened and went back to their games when they realized he wasn't a cop. The air was thick with smoke and the clinking of glasses and chips; the space wasn't very large and held only a half-dozen tables and a few ill-gotten slot machines but it was packed nonetheless.

"D!" Nezumi called out from a roulette table waving him over. Duōyí walked over and stood next to Nezumi, resting his hands on table and noting that one of the table legs was uneven when it tilted slightly, watching the roulette wheel spin round and round. The ball landed on four black and Nezumi cursed, his stack of chips on eighteen red disappearing thanks to the table dealer.

"Nezumi, don't tell people to answer to your nickname for me." Duōyí complained laying a twenty Yuan bill down and getting a pair of chips back. He placed both on five red. With the speed the wheel spun…

"Would you prefer if I told them to answer to Du-du?" Nezumi responded with a smile and placed another bet. "Sorry man, but your normal name sucks. Besides D-man, you could really be 'the man' if you wanted to with that head of yours." The wheel spun round and round again and as it was slowing down Duōyí pressed his hand down on the table slightly. The ball, formerly balancing between five red and twenty-four black teetered into five red and Duōyí received a stack of chips, the dealer never noticing his small successful act of sabotage.

"You said you had stuff you had to talk to me about." Duōyí resigned with a sigh. Nezumi cursed again and collected his remaining chips, moving over to the exchange and collecting his depleted winnings.

"Yeah, there's been a bit of a change to the plan," Nezumi said moving to door, "you're going to be a bit closer than before."

"How _much_ closer?" Duōyí asked narrowing his eyes as he followed Nezumi into the dark hallway. Deviations from the plan were inevitable, and Duōyí was flexible about that. However, Duōyí's weakness was a direct confrontation so he compensated by keeping a good distance. It irked Duōyí that his safe distance was going to be less.

Nezumi remained silent until they emerged on the other side and exited the bar, none of the patrons looking up from their drinks as they left, they were used to people disappearing and reappearing from the back. When they got outside Nezumi looked up at sky, watching a police airship cruise through the sky, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.

"You're only going to be a couple blocks away." He said, blowing a plume of smoke into the air.

"What?" Duōyí asked, grabbing Nezumi's shoulder and looking him in the eye.

"Now, now D, don't get upset," Nezumi said soothingly, "so it's a few blocks closer to the boat then you'd like. It's not like you're going to be in the middle of the heist, you've got everything else you want and need at the place I've set up."

"And when the police finally start investigating the docks their going to find that one of the nearby buildings had a rented room where a shady looking guy brought in radio equipment and suspicious documents." Duōyí retorted angrily at the risk Nezumi was taking; the job certainly didn't need any more. Duōyí was flawless to scrutiny because of his meticulous caution. The worse anyone could get on him was illegal gambling. In fact, Nezumi was the only direct contact Duōyí had in the criminal underworld. No else really knew he existed outside the Pai Sho gambling circles.

"Now I take offense to that, I am the poster child of trustworthiness. And we won't have to worry about anyone seeing us. Well, no one that will talk to the cops anyway." Nezumi answered, turning to face Duōyí.

"What do you mean?" Duōyí asked skeptically.

"I found you a nice abandoned warehouse to work out of. Hardly any elephant or spider rats too." Nezumi said, gazing up at the gathering clouds. Duōyí rubbed his temples and sighed. "Oh don't get like that. So it's a bit dirty, if you didn't have such high tastes you wouldn't be five weeks behind on protection money you can't afford." Duōyí's eyes narrowed.

"How do you know that?" He demanded.

"I'm very good at finding out information." Nezumi answered with a smile on his face "I don't know why you put yourself with the trouble of living in a bender neighborhood. If you just stuck to The Poles like the rest of the Water Tribe off the boats you'd probably get a decent rate. And you wouldn't have to pay off the cops on top of the gangs for protection."

"I'd prefer not waking up in the middle of the night to find spider-rats trying to eat me alive!" Duōyí replied, the memories of his time spent living in The Poles, the name of the borough that immigrants from the Water Tribes were segregated to, itself separated between Northern and Southern tribe members, still fresh in his mind. He had standards, and spider-rats had kept him up way too late at night.

"They really do that? I always thought the 'Don't leave your baby alone because spider-rats will swarm and eat them' thing was a myth." Nezumi asked with a drag from his cigarette.

"Walk down an alleyway with a piece of cooked meat and see how far you get." Duōyí dared. "If you make through I will be genuinely impressed."

"It doesn't have to be cooked Water Tribe meat does it? Because I don't know what your people do while cooking but the smell." Nezumi said with a gagging sound escaping his throat. "I would have figured that alone would have kept the spider rates away." He checked his watch and stomped out his cigarette. "Come on we got to get going." Duōyí grudgingly followed after him, walking down the sidewalk until they reached a small parking lot and Nezumi moved to a Satomobile.

"Since when do you own a Satomobile?" Duōyí asked curiously, Satomobiles were common in Republic City but by no means cheap. Nezumi opened the driver's side door and grinned.

"I said that this job would make enough to put you on easy street, this" he patted the hood "is what the down payment for my services got me. My clients are paying a pretty Yuan for the supplies in that ship." Duōyí went around and got into the passenger side.

"And who are these wealthy clients of yours? I thought you said that it was a bunch of small time gangs that teamed up for this? Are they the same as that _reliable source_?" He asked as he buckled himself in. Nezumi's smile disappeared and he glared at Duōyí. Duōyí figured he hit that one right on the mark.

"Just stick to the plannin' D. You'll be better off that way." They remained silent the rest of the way there.

0-0-0

**I have known great strife **

**Yet my power grows from it**

**So as clockwork turns and plans are laid**

**As long as I stand firm, things can change**

0-0-0

Bolin checked his watch for the twelfth time in half as many minutes. This was such a bad idea, he shouldn't have agreed to this. He and Mako should have found another way to get the money. Spirits he should have _told_ Mako. He checked his watch again, still a few minutes from the start of the job and looked around.

It was near midnight and there was roughly fifty of them, most representatives from various gangs glaring at each other, gathered into a large warehouse with three large trucks lined up ready to be boarded and as far as he knew he was one of the few benders apart of the heist. Bolin looked over to where his "partners" for the job were standing.

He hadn't expected for Hasook to be here, apparently he and his brother weren't the only ones to do less than reputable work on the Fire Ferrets. He and Hasook hadn't said anything to each other after he asked "Does your brother know you're here?" The argument that erupted had caused quite a stir, even getting the gang members to stop glaring at each other to watch them. And aside from an uncomfortable greeting he hadn't even said anything to his other partner. Not that he wouldn't mind getting to know her better…

She said her name was Hotaru and that was all the information she gave, and was she a looker. Her rich black hair was spiky and framed her face, with blue eyes seemed to shine in the dark warehouse, and that figure…

Needless to say he would have spent the evening flirting with her if he wasn't so spirits damned nervous.

"Alright, listen up everybody!" Bolin turned his attention to the leader of this operation; some guy named Nezumi that Shady Shin put him in contact with for the job. He was standing on top of a crate and motioning everyone to gather around him. "The Unagi docked a couple of hours ago exactly where we thought it would and most of the crew has been let out on shore leave, the arrangements have been made so we get into the docks unnoticed but the ship itself will still be guarded with a skeleton crew." There was a chorus of grumbling.

"What? How the hell are we supposed to rob the damn thing if it's guarded by soldiers?" Hasook angrily asked, a number of people voicing similar feelings. Bolin started to get even more worried than before, how was he supposed to fight soldiers? There was no way this was going to work out. Nezumi just smiled and kneeled down and turned on a radio resting at his feet.

"Because we have _him_." Nezumi answered and sat next to the radio.

"Good evening everyone, I will be the one in charge of the assault and, if necessary, retreat." A voice spoke through the radio, Bolin and the others gave a confused look to each other.

"Um, Mr. Voice? Can I ask who you are or what your name is?" Bolin asked after an uncomfortable silence.

"My name is not important or necessary." The voice gave a curt response.

"What the hell is this? How the hell are we supposed to trust this guy?" Hasook asked angrily, a few others shared his sentiment.

"You can trust him because I trust him. This isn't the first time I've worked with him and he hasn't let me down before. If anyone has a problem taking his or my orders than you can leave." Nezumi stated, pointing towards the door. No one moved, the reward too big to pass up.

"I'm glad we've settled the matter, now this is what's going to happen..."

0-0-0

Bolin sweated as he and his group sneaked through the docks, hugging the shadows as they neared The Unagi. He poked his head around a corner and saw the shadow of a patrolling guard on the ship; he whipped his head back and pressed himself into the wall they were hiding behind. Bolin took a steadying breath and hefted the portable radio closer to his body. Well, 'portable' was a loose term; it was really just a conventional radio, with a range of only a few dozen city blocks, with straps tied around it so it could be carried on your back and was heavy as hell. Great battery life though.

"Alright G-5 is in place." Bolin reported, holding the receiver to his ear. There was a moment of silence until their mysterious commander responded.

"Good, hold until other units report and then wait for the go ahead." The voice commanded.

"Pfft, who the hell does this guy think he is? We've got names why the hell doesn't he use them?" Hasook complained.

"Quiet! We don't need to be making any more noise than necessary." Hotaru angrily chastised him. Hasook sneered at her and stuck a finger in her face.

"Hey you ain't the boss of me so get the hell off my back!" he retorted angrily. Hotaru looked like she was about to respond before Bolin intervened.

"OK time out, time out guys! I know this is a stressful job, we all do, but we cannot be turning on each other now. If we don't work together then we're all going to at least end up in a United Republic prison." Bolin explained, tiring to smooth things over. "Or were all going to be killed by some dudes who are trained and get paid to do so in the Trust Territories." Hasook and Hotaru glared at each other and gave simultaneous grunts of agreements and Bolin gave a sigh of relief.

"All units are in position. Prepare for assault." The voice commanded. Bolin gave a last-minute check over his equipment. The radio was firmly strapped onto his back and he pulled a dark cloth to serve as a mask over the lower half of his face, the others did so too. _'OK, this is it_.' He thought, _'No backing out now_...'

"All units begin the assault." The mysterious commander ordered. Bolin, Hasook and Hotaru rounded the corner and sprinted toward the Unagi, the other groups emerging from nearby shadows doing the same. Their group merged with another halfway, then he and their earthbender charged forward, bending the stone out of the dock and forcing it into the air, creating a ramp. They forced segment after segment until the ramp hanged in the air a short distance above the Unagi. Without missing a beat Hasook, Hotaru, and the others ascended the ramp, Bolin and the other earthbender following after, before the soldiers on board could begin to counter the attack.

When Bolin reached the deck most of the surprised guards had been pushed back by the few benders of the group, the nonbenders using the opening to rush below deck to try to catch others off guard. Hotaru flung a pair of fireballs at a soldier, who dodged the first and sent a stream of water from under the grates that snaked around the ship for waterbenders at their feet to nullify the second. Hasook was throwing around torrents of water at his opponents, trying to force them out from behind cover of a steel crate. Bolin searched for an opening and narrowly dodged the hunk of circular earth aimed at his head. He found himself facing a large man in a Republic Navy uniform flinging discs of earth at him, forcing him to duck and weave around them.

_'Those look just like Probending discs_,' he thought, noticing that they even were dispensed from what looked like a similar rough mechanism built into ship before his musing got him a disc to the chest, sending him sprawling back nearly over the railings. The radio on his back was pressing uncomfortably hard into him at the impact. _'And they feel just like them too_.' He held his bruised chest and wished for the protective padding of his Fire Ferrets uniform. He gave a pained cough and tried to stand and caught sight of another disc heading for him. He brought his arm up to try to defend himself but a ball of fire destroyed it. Bolin looked to Hotaru who sent a stream of fire at his opponent, forcing him into the defensive. Her first opponent bent a bit of water into the air and froze it; launching the icicle at her, in response she kicked her leg into the air and sent a wave of fire at the projectile, vaporizing it.

Bolin used the opportunity to charge forward and crash into his opponent, sending the larger man sprawling back. He didn't give the man time to recover, bending the stash of discs at the soldier forcing him back farther and farther with each consecutive hit. Hotaru and Hasook were having some mixed results as they continued their assault; Hotaru gaining ground on her opponent as Hasook began to feel a bit overwhelmed as his opponents began to push back, flinging fireballs and icicles at him.

Bolin flung two discs at the soldier, the first dodged and the second hitting him in the stomach, he doubled over clutching his stomach and Bolin sent a third disc at him, crashing into the man's head. The soldier was knocked unconscious and crashed onto the deck; Bolin gave a triumphant cheer until an angry retort from Hotaru got him back into focus. He sent a pair of discs at Hotaru's opponent; the man destroyed the first with a slash of water and took the second to the shoulder. That was all Hotaru needed. She fired three quick bursts of flame, forcing him back against the wall of the ship, and dodged a stream of water he sent back at her. She pulled back her arms and unleashed a torrent of flames on him, engulfing him. After a few seconds of this she relented and the soldier slumped to his knees, clothing badly singed and hands burned from protecting his head, and finally crashed to the ground.

Beginning to feel the strain of exhaustion Bolin and Hotaru combined forces against Hasook's opponents, he having been forced back to the railing, and started intercepting the men's attacks at Hasook. Bolin sent a triad of discs at the soldier's legs while Hotaru sent a wave of fire; the discs crashed into the ground as they jumped back and were pummeled by the wave of fire that struck a moment later. Hasook sent a stream of water at the now exposed men and nailed one in the head; he fell back and crashed his head into the railing with a wet crack, the other dodged and sent another blast of fire at him. Bolin bent a disc of earth into the air above his arm and held it there, charging forward at the soldier dodging the blasts of flame that he sent at him. When he got within striking distance he launched the disc with an uppercut at the man and struck him in the jaw with enough force to launch him into the air... and over the railings.

"NO!" Bolin cried as he grabbed the falling the unconscious man's ankle and tried to haul him up. His hands began to slip and he started to teeter over the edge when two pairs of hands grabbed him and hauled him and the soldier back up. He sat down next to the unconscious soldier and pulled down his mask, gasping for breath.

"Damn, Bolin." Hasook said, pulling down his own mask. "It would have been easier to let the bastard drown."

Bolin didn't respond and pulled out the receiver for the radio.

"This is G-5, the uh, front part of the ship is secure." There was a moment of silence until their leader responded.

"Good, secure any prisoners and then proceed below deck to assist." The voice commanded. Bolin and Hasook put their masks back on and Hotaru moved to begin gathering the soldiers together. Bolin hefted himself up, his bruised chest crying out and got to work.

0-0-0

Nezumi hopped off the truck just as the ramps from inside the ship lowered down to the dock, his boys waving in the trucks as they backed up to begin loading their haul. He walked past the makeshift ramp of earth, making a mental note to have someone retract it back down, and up the ships ramp into the hold. He inhaled from his cigarette and smiled as he examined the stacks and stacks of crates filled with guns and ammunition, explosives, body armor, and field kits. He stomped out his cigarette, he wasn't going to take the chances of having an open flame next to some explosives, and started taking a tour.

The plan had gone off nearly flawlessly, with only a few injuries and one death, a poor bastard who took an icicle to the lung that bled out everywhere when the soldier who conjured the icicle got knocked out, and the police bands on the radios showed no signs of knowing about the heist. Nezumi stuck his hands in his pockets and practically strutted, he was set for months thanks to this job, maybe a year if he was careful; hell he might go on vacation, get out of the city for a while. Some of the Preserved Sectors in the older Trust Territories were rather nice this time of year. He walked past a pair of men loading a crate of rifles onto a wheeled carrier and spotted a familiar head of spiky hair and a pair of very nice, round, large… blue eyes.

"Hotaru my dear, may I say that you look no less lovely in a layer of soot and blood than a lady of high-born elegance in a lovely silk gown?" He flirted with the hot-headed firebender while her partner's eyes flicked between the two. He paid them no mind, he didn't even know their names; he knew one of them was recommended to him by Shady Shin and that the two apparently knew each other.

"Scram, Rat-face!" She growled and conjured a ball of fire in her hand to scare him off.

"Now now Hotaru, no need to get upset, it was merely a compliment on something anyone with eyes could see." He was in too good of a mood to be perpetrated. "How are our _gracious hosts_ feeling?" He peered around the corner to the pile of knocked out and tied up soldiers and sailors.

"They've been quiet for now, don't know how much longer they're gonna stay that way though." The green-eyed boy in the group said, casting a worried glance to the soldiers.

"Well if they even start to wake up give them a nice hard smack to the head, we don't need any more fighting this evening. I think we've had enough." They nodded their heads in agreement and Nezumi walked away, casting a lasting glance at Hotaru's bountiful assets and earning a sneer from her in return. Chuckling he walked further into the hold, dodging the crates as they were unloaded he was stopped by a panting man who practically ran into him.

"Boss, there's an airship heading this way!" he panted between breaths, tired from running from the deck all the way down into the hold. Nezumi's eyebrows raised, his contact Officer had assured him that the docks would be clear tonight, the closest airship would be downtown, too far to actually notice any activity. "The guy on the radio says we should drop everything and run." Nezumi furrowed his brow and then yelled out.

"Alright everyone pick up the pace, load what you can, and then get the trucks out of sight… and someone retract those damn earth ramps outside!" There was an increase in activity as everyone tried to get what they could and leave. He turned to the formerly panting man, still waiting for what he should tell D-man. "Tell him that we'll leave when we get what we came for. We barely got enough to cover the expenses as is." Nezumi continued on his way to inspect a final part of the hold, which contained the true prize of the evening. He rounded the corner and caught sight of the capsule as it was being lowered slowly with a winch and pulley onto a carrier.

"Careful boys, get so much of a scratch on that thing and my clients will have all our balls on a spick." He warned as he stood in front of the large machine, its valves and pumps gleaming in the light of the hold. He didn't know what the Equalist's wanted with this thing and he didn't want to know, all he knew was that they paid very generously to have him retrieve it as quietly as possible without leaving anything to tie back to them. Their money was good and that was all that mattered.

Whatever they wanted to do with what was inside that thing was their business.

0-0-0

Saikhan had grown accustomed to the near silent hum of the propellers on the airships that the Metalbending Police used. He had grown used to the feeling of flying through the air on metal wires that shot out above the uniforms wrists and the rushing of air past his face as he swung through air from line to line. Part of him missed those feelings of freedom, but most of him realized that he was getting too old to do so, so now he commanded from inside the airship as it made its way to The Unagi.

He had managed to acquire roughly five dozen men to aid him, most off duty officers that owed him favors, and had managed to acquire an airship and several patrol cars along with a couple of trucks. He doubted that he would need any of them, but if what councilman Tarrlok believed was true it would be better to patrol the docks than risk some group like the Equalist's getting a hold of military grade poison gas. Spirits only knew what those fiends would use it for.

"Get in contact with The Unagi; I want to know if they've seen any suspicious activity. If they have any questions patch them through to me." The radioman nodded and changed to the frequency of The Unagi. He spent about a minute asking for acknowledgement before telling the captain that they were not answering.

"Move us to over The Unagi, something isn't right." The pilot acknowledged and steered the airship to the docks. Saikhan moved to the front of the airship and looked down below and he felt like he had been stabbed in the gut. There was a trio of trucks parked next to the ship and he could make out the shape of people rushing up and down the ramps of the ship.

"Fire the spotlight on them and give me the microphone." A beam of light cut through the night and landed right on the thieves and one of the officers handed him the microphone. "This is Captain Saikhan of the Metalbending Police Force! Drop all stolen cargo and put your hands in the air!" He only had to wait a second before they all dropped what they were carrying and bolted for the trucks, another before a ball of fire flew at the airship and the 'ping! ping!' sound of bullets striking metal. _'Alright have it your way._' He thought.

"Squads One and Two deploy and apprehend them." After a moment of consideration he added, "Lethal force is authorized."

"Yes Sir!" Came a chorus of responses as the floor opened in the airship and the men leaped down, skillfully dodging various elemental blasts from the benders. However a few of the nonbenders had decided to liberate some of the rifles and smaller guns from the crates, their aim was terrible put they did manage to down one officer before they landed. While lethal force may not have been used before, it surely would be now.

While the metal benders erected walls of earth to use for cover against the guns, the trucks started and the thieves piled in, dropping what they couldn't carry and leaving those who weren't fast enough. As the trucks peeled away those unlucky few, roughly a dozen or so, all nonbenders wielding at least pistols, fled back inside the hold of the ship.

"Orders Captain?" a radioman in Squad One asked from the ground.

"Carefully proceed into the ship and apprehend the remaining criminals, find any surviving crewman, and confirm whether the capsule is still among the cargo." Saikhan ordered calmly, "Squad Three and Four will pursue the trucks." There was another chorus of "Yes Sir!" followed by the remaining squads going after the trucks while those on the ground proceeded into The Unagi.

"Have the officers in the patrol cars and trucks erect walls to block all roads in and out of this district." Saikhan ordered, hoping to trap the criminals like elephant rats and eventually ferreting them out of any hole they may flee into. The radioman sent out the order and they waited until Squad's One and Two reported back.

"Captain," came over the radio a few minutes later, "the capsule is not among the ship's cargo, one of the criminals said that he saw it being loaded onto one of the trucks before we arrived. The crew is mostly unharmed but a few may have concussions." Saikhan mentally cursed but kept a straight face.

"Very well. Squad One rejoins with the ship. Squad Two, stay here and guard the criminals until a truck can come around to take them away." The radioman inside the ship gave a dark "Certainly sir." Saikhan waited a moment and asked what squad that radioman was from.

"Squad Two sir." The ship radioman answered. Ah, they had been the ones to lose a man in the descent. He doubted that when the truck got here that the criminals would be in an unharmed condition. By the time Squad One was back inside the airship Squads Three and Four had reported that they managed to flatten the tires of one of the trucks, forcing it to crash, the capsule was not among its stolen cargo. The criminals inside had scattered and only a few had been apprehended or killed as they tried to escape. The two remaining trucks had split up, one continuing to head East into the city and the other swinging South sticking close to the waterside.

"Squad Four, stay with captured criminals. Squad Three, continue pursuing the truck heading East. We will move to intercept the truck heading South." Saikhan ordered easily, one of the trucks carried the capsule and he would find it, no matter what.

He would not let it fall into the hands of the Equalist's.

0-0-0

Duōyí cursed as he gathered up the maps and schematics off of the table he had been using, the Pai Sho pieces he had been using for markers scattering all over the floor. This was bad, very bad. The situation was no longer under his control and he had lost contact with several of his units, they had scattered to the winds at the first sign of trouble refusing to listen to his orders. And Nezumi…

Duōyí growled, Nezumi had directly countered his order to immediately retreat when the lookout had spotted the airship approaching The Unagi saying he needed more time to load some special cargo onto one of the trucks. Duōyí loaded the papers and zipped up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder and overturning the table that the radio was resting on smashing it to pieces, the cries of help from G-5 silenced. He had to make the room appear as desolate as when he arrived with Nezumi hours ago, he couldn't leave any evidence he was here.

Duōyí shut off the light and started to descend the rusting stairs from the foreman's office when warehouse doors exploded and a truck came barreling through, smashing through old crates and barrels. Its tires were flat and it swerved and slammed into the wall on its side, shaking the entire building and throwing dust into the air. Duōyí threw up his arms to cover his face and protect it from flying debris. When the last of the debris had settled and the rusting stairs had stopped threatening to collapse he uncovered his head looked at the tuck. It matched the description Nezumi gave him for the three they would be using in the heist. As he looked at it something strange happened, a collection of green lights gathered on top of the truck and condensed there, taking the shape of a person before fading away.

_'What the…_' he wondered to himself and finished descending the stairs, running to the truck. When he arrived Nezumi, clutching a bleeding shoulder, fell from the driver's side of the truck and crashed to the ground.

"Nezumi!" Duōyí rushed over to him and helped him into a seated position against the truck. "What happened?" He asked, looking at his shoulder wound.

"The cops have freaking lost it, man." He grunted as he tried to stand. "They freakin' smashed the windshield with their wires and stabbed me, got some kind of spike or blade at the end of them." He got to a shaky stand and began to walk to the back of the truck, Duōyí moved to help him. "I had some of the boys with me; they opened the back and tried shooting the cops following us. They just freakin' flung them out of the truck with their wires, right out into the street at full speed like freakin' dolls." They reached the back and Duōyí opened the back doors all the way. "But I got away with the real prize."

Duōyí looked at the strange contraption that was almost falling out of truck and tried to figure out what it could possibly do. "Nezumi what is this?" He asked, turning to the bleeding man now leaning against the frame of the truck for support.

"Hell if I know, it's worth a ton of money, I can tell you that much."

"Is this what you countermanded my orders for?" Duōyí asked with angered realization. Nezumi managed to stand to defend himself. He didn't get the chance as the capsule suddenly opened in brilliant display of light, the valves and pumps all around it hissing as it depressurized. Duōyí and Nezumi watched stunned as the capsule opened and a woman was revealed inside, her white hair flowing behind her and silver-grey eyes connecting with Duōyí's violet and for a moment he swore he saw recognition, her body confined in a straight jacket. The water surrounding her lost its shape and flowed out and she collapsed in a heap at the bottom of the capsule.

"What the, what is this? Nezumi what the hell is going on?" Duōyí demanded, moving to help the woman out of the truck.

"There was a broad in that thing?" Nezumi said stunned or beginning to experience the effects of blood loss.

"No, the real capsule is filled with poison gas." The two swung around and came face to face with a squad of Metalbending Police officers. "And you're going to tell me where you hid it." The squad commander stated.

'_They think we stole poison gas? But Nezumi said that he didn't know what we stole, and all that was inside was the girl so maybe they don't really know what was inside the capsule either or we can talk our way out of this._' Duōyí thought quickly. "We-"

"Quiet boy!" The commander barked at him and pointed to Nezumi who was back to leaning against the truck. "You! You were the driver correct? I remember puncturing your shoulder. Where is the real capsule? When did you make the switch?" The commander demanded the answers from Nezumi, who just stood there and gritted his teeth.

"I ain't gonna tell you shit, you killed my boys. They were good guys who just needed some money and you killed them like they were nothing, just flung them right out into the street and broke their necks!" Duōyí tried to tell him to shut up when he was silenced again.

"They were criminals too lazy to find honest work and stole from a United Republic Navy vessel, in the process assaulting and wounding military personnel and killing an officer of the law." The commander sneered at Nezumi. "The death sentence would have come down eventually on them, we merely sped it up."

Duōyí looked to Nezumi as the commander said this, his partners face turning redder with anger until he screamed out, "Cod yourself, you son of a eagle-wolf bitch!" and reached into his coat and pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the squad of metal benders. Nezumi had said that no metalbender was fast enough to stop a bullet and he was right. The firing of the bullet from the barrel happened at a speed too fast for the human mind to notice it, let alone for a metalbender to make the proper movements.

Nezumi had been born and raised in the streets of Republic City, living in dingy bars and rough clubs for as long as he could remember, during those years he earned a decent reputation for being fast and accurate with a gun. While he had been fast on the draw his wounded shoulder had hampered his aim enough so that his first shot missed the commander's head and went over the shoulder of the man behind him.

This would have been fine if the bullet hadn't managed to strike a collection of barrels of fuel that had been stored in the warehouse illegally to avoid the storage fees. The bullet punched through the metal barrel and ignited it, in the moment that it took for Nezumi to realize he missed and everyone else to realize he had fired at all the first barrel exploded and started a chain reaction that set off the other barrels in the warehouse.

The resulting explosion could be seen half way across the city.

Duōyí hadn't even realized he had grabbed the girl until after he had ran from the burning and collapsing warehouse and stopped in a nearby alley. She had tripped, the heeled boots that the straight jacket somehow required caught on some rubble and she went crashing to the ground. He went to pull her up but collapsed against the alleyway wall holding his head.

_'How… how can this be happening?_' He was a fugitive. Those officers had seen his face, heard his voice. They knew he was associated with Nezumi, that he was part of the heist. Oh spirits was Nezumi even alive? There was so much fire and smoke, he just grabbed the first thing that felt like a person and ran. He heard the officers screaming after him so he knew they were alive, but not if they were wounded or not. He was going to have to leave Republic City, but where could he go? The United Republic represented every nation; he was practically a criminal in everyone now. He looked over to the girl, lying helplessly on the ground and anger boiled inside him.

"This is your fault isn't it! Who or what the hell are you! Why is this happening!" the girl gave no response, her mouth shut by the straight jacket, and looked at him with something close to pity. He turned his head away from her and sighed, it wouldn't do any good getting angry right now, not when he couldn't even get any answers. He moved to help the girl to her feet when the first gunshot rang out in the distance, then another and another. Soon the air was filled with the sound of gunshots and shouting.

_'What the hell is going on?_' Duōyí thought as he moved to the mouth of the alleyway, guiding the girl with an arm on her shoulder. He peeked around the corner and saw a mob of people running down the street shouting and waving guns, throwing bricks and bottles, occasionally firing at an unknown enemy. _'Are the people rioting? Did the explosion set them off?_' People living near the docks had never been on good terms with the police before and would rather turn to the local gangs, mostly consisting of people who had grown up there, for protection.

His answer came when a stream of flame set a man on fire and a uprooting of earth launched a woman into a nearby wall. The people scattered as the attacks became more frequent and a pair of police officers chased them down, killing members of the crowd as they went.

_'No, this is a massacre._' Duōyí realized with a dull horror. He knew that Metalbending Police was corrupt but this? What was important enough to justify this? They weren't even trying to subdue people, just cutting them down. He cast a glance at the girl next to him, but she only stared back at him. "Come on, we got to get out of here." He said as he guided the girl across the street.

Their trip through the docks was terrifying. They passed body after body, burned out Satomobiles, burning buildings as the fire from the warehouse spread, they had to duck out of sight from passing officers riding the power lines, and the sound of gunfire increased as they got farther and farther into the city. They were walking over a pile of rubble into a warehouse when a man ran around the corner screaming and a wire with a blade at the end soared through the air and punctured his back. He tripped over his own feet and fell, the wire sticking out of his back. It took a few tugs but the blade slipped out and a bloodstain spread around his back.

"Report!" a voice ordered out of sight but it was enough to raise the hairs on Duōyí 's neck. It was the squad commander's.

"Nothing but a few nonbending civilians sir." A younger voice answered, unfazed by the murder of said civilians. Duōyí indicated to the girl to follow him back out the way they came, but slipped on some of the rubble causing some rocks to fall and clatter to the floor. There was a tense moment of silence before he heard the sound of retreating footsteps and gave a sigh of relief.

Then a pillar of rock launched him and the girl into the air.

He landed on his side with a crash and gasped out in pain, clutching his side and trying to get to his feet.

"Well, look who it is boys." Duōyí turned to look at the grinning commander and his gathered men, their armor a little singed and dented but they no less worse for wear. "I have to hand it to you; I thoroughly believed you had given us the slip. We've had to deal with this little riot so we weren't able to track you down, but I never expected you to walk into the same room as us." He gave a cruel sounding laugh, motioned for his men to grab Duōyí and the girl. They took the girl to the side and shoved him against the wall.

"You bastards, why? These people were unarmed!" he yelled angrily pointing at the piles of dead men, women, and children, none of them holding a weapon.

"They were sheltering rioters and refused to divulge information about their location or that of the capsule." He answered smoothly. "An example had to be set. Besides you nonbenders breed like elephant rats, their numbers will be back in no time." He gave a sneer and kicked the body of a young woman as if to prove his point.

"Stop it!" Duōyí shouted, the officers getting into a fighting position and preparing to attack.

"Well boy as interesting as this has been unless you have any information on where your accomplice hid the poison gas capsule, and I'm guessing you don't," Duōyí gave no denial of this, "then will have to take your friend and work her over to see if she knows anything about the gas capsule. You on the other hand will have to be disposed of." Duōyí heard this and reached into his coat to pull his revolver out. Only to have it fly out of his hand and twist and contort in the air, the captain using his bending to destroy the weapon.

"Ah, ah ah. I wouldn't be a very good officer if I fell for that again. But I'll tell you something, I'm going to make it quick for you." The commander said, smirking and readying to fire his wrist wire.

"NO! He mustn't die!" the girl cried out, her straight jacket loose enough to allow her to speak and jump out in front of Duōyí. The commander's wire launched and plunged directly into her chest, puncturing her heart. She fell to her knees and the blade retracted from her heart, she let out a choking gasp and fell to the ground. Duōyí watched shocked as a pool of blood spread out around her.

'_She saved me? Why? She doesn't know me? I haven't done anything to deserve this_.' He fell to his knees next to her and stared at her body.

"Hmm, a shame but she was not necessary to find the capsule, we'll find it once the people here have been brought to heel." The commander thought aloud. Duōyí didn't hear him; he was lost in his own thoughts.

_'I'm going to die. Nezumi is probably dead, this girl is dead, and now I'm going to die and I haven't done a single thing with my life. I barely passed my coming of age rite in the Southern Water Tribe; my only jobs have been overseeing criminals in small time heists and gambling at Pai Sho, and I'm never going to see my family again_.' The thought of his family, or rather one member of it brought him back a little. _'I'm never going to talk to Korra again. I'm never going to patiently listen to her try and explain how awesome Probending must be. I'm never going to secretly make fun of the White Lotus guards and teachers with her again. I'm never going to see her again_.' Korra, his little sister who so strong with her bending, who was so sheltered, never leaving the compound that was her home for so long, everything she heard from the outside world censored or altered by the White Lotus. Even a year ago she would have been ecstatic to see him, just to hear what things were really like in the outside world, the White Lotus standing nearby glaring disapprovingly and their parents standing by and doing nothing to stop it.

Suddenly the girls hand shot up and gripped his ankle and a jolt ran up to his head, everything around him changing. He was floating in the air, strings of energy trailing off into space connecting to his hands and feet, with strange patterns covering the world around him.

/"You don't want it to end here do you?"/ the girls voice rang out all around him.

"What?" he asked stunned, the world changing again to a white abyss.

/"You have a reason to live."/ Her voice rang out again.

_'Is that the girl? That's impossible, she's dead_.' He thought stunned.

/"I ask of you: if I grant you the power to fight your enemies would you go on? I propose a deal."/ She said as the world changed again, this time into a horizon of a far-off planet, the sun growing brighter and brighter.

/"In exchange for these powers you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contract and you accept its conditions. While living in the world of humans you will live unlike any other. A different providence, a different time, a different life."/ He was floating in the whiteness again.

/"The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude; the Element of Freedom will allow you to fight your enemies in a way they will never be prepared for. Are you prepared for this?"/ she questioned, and far off in the distance Duōyí thought he could see a gathering of men and women in a strange looking metal temple, with strange angles and heights.

"YES! I hereby accept the terms of your contract!" He shouted into the abyss. Everything changed and he found himself back in the warehouse staring at the body of the girl. But now…

"Tell me," Duōyí said, rising from the ground covering his left eye, "how should a man who sees nothing but cruelty, corruption, and incompetence from those who have sworn to lead and protect us live his life?"

"What was that? You some kind of radical from the Trust Territories or an Equalist?" the commander angrily asked, but took a step back when he saw the floor. The dust was starting to kick up around Duōyí.

"Why not fire your wire blade into _my_ heart too." He asked the dust starting to rise higher and faster, a wind starting to whip his and their clothes around. "Or have you finally realized…" the air now whipping the loose boards on the ceiling around and the men were backing away in fear, "the only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to _be killed_!" Duōyí removed his hand from over his eye and revealed the strange sigil in it, glowing with power.

"What, what is this!" the commander screamed as the winds began practically ripping the room apart, the walls shaking and threatening to collapse.

"I command you, all of you, DIE!" Duōyí ordered with a harsh whisper, casting his new power out onto the men. The men twitched for a moment and then slumped their shoulders. And looked at the ground, then the commander began chuckling.

"Certainly sir!" His head shot up with a manic grin on his face to match the racing wind all around them, "Men ready yourselves!" they, with matching grins, pressed the blades against their necks. "NOW!" the commander cheered out, dragging his blade across his throat, spilling his blood down his chest, his men soon followed suit, all of them falling to the ground with manic grins on their faces. Duōyí realized what had happened and stared shocked at the dead soldiers laying at his feet, the wind settling down to gentle breeze and then ceasing.

Then, Duōyí smiled. And the world was changed forever.

"Well then…"


	2. Port Yue Incident

**Chapter 2,** Port Yue Incident

Police Chief Lin Beifong had little patience for politics, mainly because she was not one to suffer idiots. It was an annoyance that came with her position, having to contend with the mountain-sized egos of every noble and businessman of the city whenever she had to step on their fingers, a common event, while simultaneously trying to not lodge her fist in their faces. They would argue and debate over trivial matters and keep her from doing her job, demanding to oversee every action and decision she made as if their contributions to the police force entitled them to it, and having the gall to criticize her and "advise" her on how to better police the city. They would never act this way if her mother was still command.

They had been respectful in their own way to her mother, they knew that the Great Toph Beifong, the creator of metalbending and a hero in the Hundred Year War, would know how to police the city and would need none of their "help". Not so with her.

She knew the rumors that circulated when her mother stepped down and handed the position of Chief over to her, that the Great Toph Beifong's, they never referred to her as anything other than that, judgment was clouded and had placed her there simply because she was her daughter, a daughter that bared a mysterious resemblance to a prominent captain under Toph's command. They doubted anyone could be as capable as her, the statue outside the police headquarters a tribute to her glory, and felt that while they could not voice their displeasure at an obviously biased choice they would help her daughter in any way they could. And they wondered why she was always in a sour mood at their swanky dinner parties. She endured the whispers behind her back and trudged through her duties, somehow managing the upper crust of the city while occasionally doing the actual police work that she loved. But right now one was stopping her from doing the other.

She shoved the council page out of her way, ignoring the man's protests and hurled open the doors to the council room, the five-body council turning their heads as one to face her.

"Why have my officers been ordered to not enter the docks and ignore any orders from me that tell them otherwise?!" Lin demanded angrily, never stopping her charge to the assembled councilmen, the usual semi polite demeanor she kept around the council nowhere to be found.

"Lin, please calm down." Tenzin asked rising from his seat and raising his hands to try to soothe the angry Chief of Police. "We were merely debating what actions should be taken in light of this situation, and we agree that caution should be taken-"

"Don't feed me that crap Tenzin!" Lin replied, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "Holding back the police force isn't being cautious, it's _being stupid_." The assorted council members bristled at the insult to their decision, even if it was a temporary measure to allow more time to debate an actual one. Before Tenzin could respond Councilman Tarrlok rose from his seat and put on his best smile. If there was one thing Lin hated about Tarrlok it was that smile, it was just enough to lower your defenses to his suggestions and he used it whenever he could, often when trying to relocate some of her men to areas of the city he deemed more… valuable.

"Chief Beifong if I might interject?" Tarrlok asked and didn't wait for a reply, "While it is regrettable that we must hold back on restoring order to docks of Port Yue it is due to a lack of information. To act without proper knowledge of the situation and its cause would be a risk that we cannot take; any further intervention could make the situation a thousand times more volatile."

"_Volatile_?!" Lin all but roared, "We have had an explosion that has started a fire consuming at least a quarter of the docks already and reports of rioting and gunfire! The situation cannot get any more volatile!" Tarrlok did not look concerned with her argument.

"We are mobilizing the fire fighter airships and boats to begin dumping and spraying water on the fires to try to slow their progression." He countered smoothly. "And police units already in the area have sealed off the docks to contain those currently rioting in the streets. So until the units in the area begin to radio for assistance or the situation comes under control there is no need to begin diverting officers from their designated patrols." Lin's eyes narrowed at the mention of the police units at the docks.

_'Saikhan what the hell are you doing?_' Lin thought, turning her mind to the rogue captain. When the explosion had occurred and she had woken to the slight rumble and the ringing of the phone next to her bed, she had immediately ordered a report from all on duty captains and had ordered all off duty captains to report in. When she got the news at headquarters that Saikhan's wife Seiko believed that he was on duty that night she got suspicious and started demanding to know where he was, finally finding that an airship was missing from dock along with several patrol cars and trucks.

When the she tried to radio the patrol cars and trucks she was answered by men who were listed as off duty for that night, the missing airship never answered her repeated attempts at contact, and she learned from one young nervous officer, the sound of gunfire faint in the background, that Saikhan had asked them to patrol the docks and guard a ship. She didn't get much more before the officer gave a hasty apology and left his radio, the radio fizzing out on the sound of gunfire much closer.

So now she had a captain who had decided to make moves behind her back for an unknown reason. The worst part was that out of all of her captains she had trusted Saikhan the most. He had worked under her when he first joined the Metalbending Police Force when she was a Captain herself, they had been partners on countless cases and patrols, she had attended his wedding and been there for the birth of his sons, she still regularly had dinner at his home and was on friendly terms with his wife. She was his sons Godmother for spirits sake! And most importantly he hadn't said anything when her mother appointed her as the new Chief; he had been the first to congratulate her and shake her hand.

"Never tell me how to do my job Tarrlok." Lin countered hotly. "Citizens are in danger and it's my job to protect them." The councilman from the Earth Kingdom gave a dismissive snort.

"The only citizens that reside in the docks are whores, thugs, and Refrain or Cactus Juice users; this riot is a testament to how they act naturally. Walling them in until they calm down is the best solution; the explosion was probably a drug lab gone haywire." Lin was about to verbally assault the councilman when Tarrlok interjected again.

"Regardless of the demeanor of the citizens that reside at Port Yue the situation is being handled and contained, no rioting has occurred outside of the walls erected around the docks. And from what I understand the police inside have been making grounds to restoring order." Tarrlok eyes locked with Lin's and his smile seemed to smooth over. "However I _do_ believe it acceptable to divert some nearby patrols to help reinforce the walls and allow the admittedly few officers manning them some assistance. All in favor?" Tarrlok raised his hand; soon the Fire Nation and Southern Water Tribe Councilmen raised their hands. Tenzin and the Earth Kingdom Councilman took a moment to consider before they both gave in and raised their hands.

Tarrlok was throwing her a bone and she knew it, he was hoping that this small concession would get her off his back for a moment. Lin clenched her fists in anger; it was likely that this was all she was going to get. If she pushed for more Tarrlok would make it seem that she was being unreasonable and it was likely that no one other than Tenzin would oppose him. And he wasn't the most liked among the council's circles; he only had his position because he was literally the only option from the all but annihilated Air Nomads and never had to work to get there. Their past together was also well known, she paid enough attention to the gossip at the dinner parties and gala's to know that any time he sided on a matter that relatively benefited her they jumped to him "helping a former lover" as a primary reason for siding with the police. No, Tenzin couldn't help and Tarrlok would make arguing for anymore be useless chattering. She was going to have to take what was being given to her.

"Thank you for this concession." Lin accepted, slipping back into the semi polite tone she used for the council. Tarrlok whacked the gavel onto its base and decreed the measure approved. Turning to leave and issue the new orders Tarrlok made one final comment before she left.

"I would not be too worried Chief Beifong, this is a momentary upset. Once the people have calmed down everything will go back to normal." He said sitting back down in his seat. "It's likely that all we're dealing with is some small time gang members too stupid to know not to start an open war with the police," he straightened his suit and put on his most reassuring smile, "it's not anyone particularly dangerous."

0-0-0

_In the previous few years of Republic City, benders have discriminated against non-benders and threaten them with their elements have continuously harassed the non-benders for extortion, blackmail, or just plain cruelty. Since even members of the police have been corrupted, the non-benders have grown a festering contempt for those that allow them to be oppressed. _

_Likewise, the Police have also grown bitterness towards the uncooperative nature of many civilian communities who completely disrespect them as a whole no matter how inept or crooked some of their number may be. Over time, certain areas gained a tension between police and citizen. _

_In addition, with the recent inventions in firearms with the precision and practicality far surpassing the Fire Nation Musket, police casualties and injuries are more common. Since that time, police benders, especially Metalbenders have absolute hatred for guns, which have broken many officers' beliefs in their inherent superiority._

_With Captain Saikhan and his Officers surprise arrival at the Unagi, the heist crew has been brutally scattered and a riot has broken out. However, the corrupt Policeman began an indiscriminate massacre of all the non-benders at the Port. Now Duoyi, armed with his new powers from his mysterious contract, begins his new path that will change the world._

0-0-0

Duōyí gazed at his hands and willed the air to shift around them, it responded to him by taking the form of rapidly rotating spheres on the palms of his hands. It was strange how something he could never dream of doing before could come so easily to him. Korra had tried to describe to him what bending was like, how waterbending was a push and pull and fire was like a heartbeat, but he never really understood it until now. Airbending was like… a leaf on the wind. You couldn't grab the leaf directly, otherwise it would just slip through your fingers on a current, you had to be precise with it and guide it to move how you wanted it to, finding a way to trick it into your grasp. Just as easily as he conjured them he snuffed them out and looked at the cooling bodies of the metalbending squad.

He really did it; he had made them kill themselves. He brought a hand to his face and covered the eye that held his new power. Soon a smile stretched across his face.

_'The things I can do with these_.' He wondered to himself. He could change everything with these gifts; he could destroy and reshape the United Republic of Nations! He could remake it into what it was meant to be so tha-. The crack of a rifle brought him back to the world and he remembered where he was, the sound of gunfire getting closer and angered shouting with it. Ah yes, he would have to get out of here before he did anything. His gaze turned to the body of the girl, the blood from her chest wound already drying. He kneeled down next to her body and thought to himself.

_'What did you want me to do? Why did you give me these powers? You said something about fulfilling a contract, holding up an end of a deal_.' She didn't answer him, her body simply lying there. He hadn't really expected an answer, but she had bestowed these powers onto him from beyond the grave so he held onto a hope she could communicate from the same place as well. Duōyí rose to his feet and looked out of one of the holes in the roof of the warehouse, checking his watch a moment later.

It was going to morning in a few hours, and if they hadn't sent reinforcements to help stop the rioting by now, the port would be swarming with police by dawn when there was more light. He needed to be out of the docks before then, but he couldn't just walk out, they would most certainly have walled off the district and trapped everyone inside. He could just reach the walls and order them to let him leave but there was no way of knowing how many were there or if a crowd had gathered outside the walls. He didn't know enough about his new power to try to see if it could affect people's memories, and he wasn't about to walk away from this.

If he was going to do what he was already planning to do, if he was going to destroy the United Republic of Nations, then he needed to know he could do it. He needed to know if he could outsmart and stand up to more than just some small time criminals; he needed to know if he could take on the nations that ruled the world. But for now the Metalbending Police Force would do. He just needed a way to-

"Hey you what the hell happened here?!" Duōyí snapped back to reality and realized that he was no longer alone, an officer had arrived, a radio slung over his back and a riot mask covered his face. The officer drew a pistol and demanded again. "Didn't you hear me? I asked you what happened here? Who killed these officers?" Duōyí merely stared at the man, unfazed by the threat of his pistol, a plan already forming in his head. Judging by the man's use of the pistol he was a non-bender, benders felt it beneath them to use a tool to fight when they could use their natural abilities. He had lost his bag containing the maps in his escape with the girl but with that radio and suit…

"I order you to give me your suit, radio, and pistol." He cast his power out onto the officer, who just stood there and fired a single shot at the wall behind him.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! Now answer me! Are you responsible for this?!" Duōyí didn't flinch as the bullet struck behind him and stared at the man's riot helmet, with a pure black visor shielding his eyes.

_'Of course, I'm going to need direct eye contact for it to work_.' He realized. Duoyi hid his annoyance and put both of his hands up in the air, instantly changing his demeanor. "I… I'm sorry; this is has just been a very crazy night. I found these policemen… dead along with everyone else in here. Please! I'm just a non-bender! I have no way to defend myself!" Duōyí lied smoothly, putting on his most convincing scared-witless demeanor. The officer seemed to relax a little and cautiously walked towards him, warily keeping his gun pointed at Duōyí the entire time.

"What's your name boy?" The officer asked when he got close enough to the 'victim', taking off his helmet to reveal his face. Duōyí smirked and answered, a red sigil appearing in his left eye.

"I don't think that's important. Now, if you would so kindly help me with a couple things…?"

0-0-0

Hotaru had been is some bad situations in her life, it had become like a little hobby ever since her brother died. She would go to seedy bars and clubs and pick fights and commit crimes like vandalism and theft, occasionally joining in on bigger jobs like this one to rob some swanky mansion not unlike the one she lived in or some high quality store. But nothing of this magnitude.

She shouldn't have agreed to this. She should have told the man no and gone back home for the night and deal with her bitch stepmother and the pathetic mess that was her biological mother. But his money had been good and plentiful and he hadn't wanted much, just that capsule from The Unagi that Nezumi was so protective of. It hadn't seemed like that big of a deal; Nezumi was a pig who never took his eyes of her chest and whose idea of a cut from the job was laughable and insulting. It was supposed to be easy, she and the four others hired with her after the initial heist were to get on whatever truck the capsule was on and hijack it halfway to the safe house, taking it to their own to collect their money and go home. But instead the police had shown up just after they loaded the capsule and all hell had broken loose.

She coughed as she ran past a burning building and inhaled some of the smoke, turning down another alleyway as the metalbending officers followed her from above, their wires allowing them to swing around the buildings after her. She had gotten separated from the rest of the survivors of The Unagi heist when a squad of metalbenders had descended from the airship which had caught up to them and surrounded their truck, splitting the group in two and forcing them to flee in opposite directions. It wasn't long before the metalbenders that had followed her group picked off the others, either killing them or driving them into diverging directions. Now she was the only one left, lugging the groups' radio on her back after Bolin took one of the metalbenders wire blades in his shoulder and they had to dress it.

She turned another corner and had to dodge a wire blade as it struck the ground next to her. She rounded and flung a fireball into the air, which was dodged easily by the pair of metalbending officers. She cursed and dodged another blade, nearly tripping and falling in her haste to escape the metalbenders.

"-Take the right at the end of the alleyway." The radio on her back crackled to life and she gasped in surprise recognizing the voice, grabbing the receiver and holding it to her ear.

"What the hell happened?! Where have you been?!" She demanded angrily from the person who was supposed to be in charge.

"The police were closing in on my position and I was forced to flee before I was captured." The voice answered smoothly.

"How can I trust you?" He had abandoned them once already; she didn't want to go through that kind of chaos again.

"Because I'm not only going to tell you how we're going to escape, but how we'll win this battle." He answered immediately, without any doubt in his voice.

_'Win? How the hell can he expect us to do that_?' Hotaru thought speculatively, she would have been happy with just _surviving_ but winning? She saw the entrance to the street from the alleyway and ran through it, going right just as he instructed. "Alright what now?!" She asked in a panic as she was now exposed in the barren street to the metalbenders following her.

"Your trust was well placed." The voice answered cryptically. She turned around when the metalbenders swung out of the alleyway and into the street, her head snapping to the side when a piece of rebar spinning through the air caught one of the police officers in the chest, punching through his armor and out the other side. Hotaru followed where it had come from and saw a figure standing in a nearby window, wearing a metalbender police officer uniform with a riot helmet covering his face.

"What the hell are you doing?! What's your name and number officer?!" The remaining metalbender demanded and she watched her savior bend a second piece of rebar to his chest-level and spin it in mid air, circling it with his hands until it apparently reached a desired speed, and launching it at the remaining officer who managed to bend it right before it reached him into a useless pile of scrap.

The metalbender descended to the street and fired his wire at her mysterious leader, striking outside the window of the room he was in and forcing him to seek cover. Hotaru let out a roar and sent a pair of fireballs at him, forcing him to duck and dodge around them and turn his attention to her. She narrowly dodged his blades when he dislodged them from the building and swung them at her, and then charged forward letting out a stream of fire. When she reached the officer she cut the stream and sent a kick at the man's head, a trail of fire following it, that he blocked with one arm while the other tried to smash in Hotaru's face.

She let out a guttural roar and caught the fist with her hand and pulled the man towards her, smashing her forehead against his nose in a head butt and breaking it with a wet crunch. The man let out a howl of pain and brought the hand formerly shielding him from a fiery kick to his face to cradle his crushed and bleeding nose. Hotaru took a step back, her vision swirling from the impact, and flung a fireball at the man, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him to the ground. Vision still blurred she charged and leapt onto the man, bringing a fiery fist down onto his face again and again. The metalbender tried to knock her off with a pillar of earth to her side, the rock slamming into her rib-cage with a sickening crunch, but she stayed on and conjured a ball of fire in both of her palms and brought them to the man's face and held it there. The man screamed and clawed at her face and arms in an attempt to stop her before this eventually stopped and he went still.

Hotaru cut the fire after a few more seconds and looked at the man's face, most of the skin and hair burnt away and the bone scorched, the smell burnt flesh wafting up to her and making her eyes sting and tear up. She leaned to one side, her bruised ribs screaming in protest, and vomited. When she was done she got shakily to her feet and staggered over to the wall, leaning against it and regaining her breath.

_'Oh spirits… what have I done?_' She cast a glance back at the man's face and instantly regretted it, another wave of vomiting emptying what was left in her stomach. She had _killed_ him. She had never killed anyone before, the worst she ever did was give a concussion or two. But this had been on purpose; she had wanted him dead for chasing her through the streets like an animal to be hunted down and all the other people that had been killed tonight. And a part of her had enjoyed it, the fighting she had always enjoyed along with every victory but this was far more potent, it had electrified her spine and sent tingles through her when she won and sickened her to her very being when she realized what she had done. She didn't want to be like them, either uncaring or smiling while they cut down people left and right.

"Hotaru!" a familiar voice called out. She turned her head and saw Bolin waving energetically at her while being helped along by Hasook, running towards her along with the rest of his group. When they reached her they looked at the cooked and skewered metalbenders and cast a worried glance at her. "Spirits! What happened here!?" Bolin asked alarmed, backing away from the corpse with Hasook, eyeing her warily.

"Nothing… Nothing, I just accidentally aimed a fireball a bit too high." She lied with a panted breath. "How did you guys find me?" They had ran in an entirely different direction, the idea they had circled around seemed unlikely.

"The asshole on the radio told us how to get here." Hasook answered with a sneer, shifting Bolin on his shoulder to avoid putting pressure on the blade wound from earlier. "Made some bullshit excuse for ditching our asses earlier." Bolin gave a displeased frown at that. Hotaru turned around and looked at the window where he had stood a mere minute ago.

_'Where did he go?_' She thought to herself when she found it empty. She didn't have to wait long as her radio crackled to life.

"Good, you have all arrived." The voice said over her receiver, she held it out in the open so they could all hear. "Now what I'm going to need you to do is-"

"Now hang on a _damn minute_!" Hasook angrily interrupted. "Why the hell should we listen to _you_? You abandoned us at the first sign of trouble, how are we supposed to know you won't do it again!" The collected thieves gave a grumbled agreement.

"Ask your friend." The voice answered, sounding a little peeved. "She would still be running or dead if it wasn't for me." The group turned to look at her questioningly.

"It's true," she answered, "he took out the other metalbender and gave me the chance to fight the other on the ground." She pointed at the skewered man for emphasis and glanced at the cooked officer and shot her eyes away from him.

"He did?" Bolin asked, looking at the piece of rebar jutting through the man. "Is he a metalbender?" The question gave Hotaru a start at the implications and she began to go over everything he said and how he bent the rebar into the air and threw it after circling it with his hands.

_'Wait_…' Hotaru thought to herself _'since when do metalbenders make circling motions? They would just bend it into the air and launch i_t.'

"How I did it is not important, but rather that I did do it." The voice dodged Bolin's question. "Now if you want to win this battle and survive you're going to have to trust me." The collected thieves and Bolin looked at each other and shifted on their feet, the sounds of gunshots in the distance growing along with police sirens, before giving a collected nod. Hasook gave a dissatisfied grunt but nodded with them.

"Alright what do we do?" Hotaru asked, looking up at the sky as the spreading fires colored it orange with pillars of black smoke breaking it up.

0-0-0

"One of the trucks we used during the heist crashed a few blocks away. The passengers were apprehended and have been taken away but they haven't touched the weapons and ammunition." Duōyí explained into the radio the metalbender officer had been so kind to give him from his new hideout, a nearby office building for a fishing company. It was quite high, towering over the nearby building by a good ten floors; certainly no skyscraper but it was one of the highest buildings in the docks. "It is guarded by a full squad of metalbenders, but they have left themselves exposed and have made no attempts to fortify their position, believing themselves capable of handling any threat that can try to meet them." Duōyí gave a smile as he gazed out the window and looked at the squad down the streets, idly wandering about the truck just tiny little moving dots among the rubble. "We are going to prove them wrong."

"And how the hell are we going to do that?!" The loud mouth from G-5 asked over the radio, he was quickly becoming his least favorite piece in this battle.

"Hasook quiet! Let the guy talk." The nervous one said, who was the piece that he possibly liked the most. He didn't know his name, or any of their names, but he took all of his orders unquestioningly and that was enough right now. The redhead was undoubtedly the best fighter though, making her the most valuable.

"Thank you, now here's what you're going to have to do..." Duōyí said before going into detail about his plan, his gaze never leaving the truck down the street from him. There was a rough confirmation from his "soldiers" as they set out to follow his orders. Duōyí sighed as he changed the frequency on the radio to the one that the police were using coming right into the airship radioman asking for an update from one of the patrolman. He shrugged off the radio and laid it down on the floor, the metalbender suit he was wearing clinking as he moved.

He had never been physically fit, that had always been Korra, so the constant running and climbing he had to do after gaining all he needed from the officer had been particularly difficult. He had to stop and rest every time he ran a few dozen meters, hoping that he wasn't discovered along the way until he reached a suitable hide out, having to climb up a damnable amount of stairs every time. Hopefully he wouldn't be discovered this time and he wouldn't have to flee again before settling into another building. If he got out of this he should really consider physical conditioning.

He paused in the middle of taking off his suit, the damned thing becoming stifling and beginning to weigh him down, he had watched the red headed girl carrying the radio kill the officer, the way she just held the fire to his face as he clawed at her to get off. He had left when she realized she killed the man and began vomiting, using the opportunity to leave before the others arrived and saw him. She was skilled; he had watched her take out the officer with a brutal efficiency and direct force, and he could make great use of her when, if, they managed to get out of this.

Duōyí clenched his fists at his side when the radioman on the Metalbending Police airship got the report that members of "Squad One" had been found dead, matching the two officers that he and the girl had killed. He switched the radio frequency to the one that his men were using, asking for a status report and hearing that acceptable progress was being made. He ordered them to wait for his order before beginning the assault and turned the radio back to the police frequency.

They weren't far behind them, maybe a few minutes' tops if they caught his little armies trail, and he doubted they could manage in their present state even with his help. They barely numbered over a dozen, much of their previous fifty strong force captured or dead, while if the officer he interrogated was correct the enemy had five times that amount, and had only three of the previously seven benders among them, the entirety of G-5, while the rest had only few pistols and two rifles with barely any ammunition. This was going to be difficult.

_'But then_,' Duōyí thought as he looked at the lone hovering airship in the distance, _'everything that's ever worth doing is._'

0-0-0

**I hear them, I hear them**

**Those dreaded drums of war**

**Come then bastards and whoresons**

**What the hell are we waiting for?**

0-0-0

Saikhan knew that his career was over. He knew that the most he was going to get out of this was a discharge with his benefits brought early, at worst he was going too smeared by every newspaper from here to Ba Sing Se, _and_ denied his benefits and he'll have to find some way to support his family. He didn't even want to think on how this was going to affect them, especially his boys who thought Dad was a regular hero.

If Lin didn't have his ass canned over taking an airship along with several patrol cars and trucks and numerous off duty officers then she would over this riot. Damn the Equalists! If they hadn't stolen the poison gas then he wouldn't have had to go to such extreme measures to recover it. The situation had blown out of proportions along with the warehouse that one of the trucks had crashed into, the one that had most likely held the capsule until the squad sent after it reported that a switch had been pulled.

What the Equalists were trying to accomplish by putting women in replicas of war machines he couldn't even begin grasp.

"Captain Squad One is reporting that some of its members are missing." Damn it more of them gone, they had lost contact with Squad Three earlier after nearly losing them in that warehouse explosion and a patrol car had been sent looking for them at their last reported location, and they had lost contact with them too. Saikhan stifled a sigh and ordered a nearby patrol car to move in and find them, hopefully alive although he was quickly starting to lose this optimism. The death toll was high enough already, nearly a dozen police officers missing or even dead in the span of a few hours and who knows how many civilian and gang member causalities. The rioters were unorganized but they were putting up a good fight all the same, using their illegally obtained firearms to great effect, but they were losing the fight, the few remaining fighters being hunted down and apprehended. Another hour or two and they could continue with the search for the capsule, calling in the necessary units to fight the fires and take the criminals away.

"Captain Patrol car Six has reported that the missing members of Squad One have been found dead." The radio operator announced grimly.

"How many?" Saikhan asked his face impassive and controlled while on the inside he reeled at the growing loss.

"Two sir." The radio operator answered. "One was… impaled by a piece of rebar while the other had his face burned off." Saikhan gave a startled jolt at that. The only known death so far had been from gunshot wounds, this implied that someone had held fire to the man's face until he died while the other was killed by a fellow metalbender. The former disturbed him more; it meant that they were either facing against people who had the same training as them or that someone had turned traitor.

"What about the other members?" Saikhan asked.

"They are moving to rejoin with us sir." Good, he could watch them more closely from the ship, in case one of them was the hypothetical traitor.

"Sir Squad Four is under attack!" The radio operator yelled, holding the receiver to his ear.

"Put it on the speakers and send Patrols Six and Eight to assist." Saikhan ordered quickly, the speakers cackling to life above him.

"This is Squad Four! We have uh, seven, nine armed assailants attacking our position! They have benders among them! Repeat! We are-" The squad radioman repeated his message, the sound of gunfire and shouting in the background growing more intense. This was bad; Squad Four had been in charge of guarding the crashed truck full of stolen arms and armor. If the criminals were making a push to reclaim it and attack a fully armed squad then it meant that they were desperate. If they managed to acquire more weapons and ammunition then their spirits would soar, leading to a renewing of the war in the streets that he had just brought under control. But if they were broken there then the fight would leave them and the port would come under control all the faster. Saikhan's musing was cut short when the panicked squad radioman began screaming into his radio.

"They're on the roofs! They climbed up the fire escapes while we were distracted! We've gotta- AHHH!" The squad radioman cried out in pain as the sound of gunfire and cries of pain increased and then slowed to silence. The sound of footsteps soon replaced it along with faint voices talking, soon the connection cut off. The radioman in the airship tried to regain the connection but Saikhan ordered him against it.

"Tell Patrols Six and Eight that Squad Four's position has fallen and that the assailants have most likely armed themselves with new weapons and ammunition." Saikhan ordered with a hard edge in his voice, hands clenched at his sides. "Warn them that the enemy has taken to the rooftops and that street bound travel is no longer safe. Wire travel will be safer if they can find any that go over the buildings." It was a risk but if the enemy had the high ground then the only option was to make use of their ability to move through the air on their wires to out maneuver them. If they were lucky than they could disarm, or kill most likely, them before they could aim and pull off a shot. "I want constant updates from the patrolman over the speakers!" Saikhan ordered to the radio operator, who only gave a nod of acknowledgement before the speakers crackled to life again and he spoke into his receiver giving more orders and updates.

"Alright this looks good." The radioman from one of the patrol cars said, the sound of an engine in the background dying and doors opening and closing replacing it. Soon the sound of whooshing air followed and the low screech of the metal-benders using the power lines to travel on were heard. This continued for a minute before the screeching slowed to a stop and the radioman reported in. "Uh… airship we don't have any visual on any rooftop criminals or any in the street."

_'What_?' Saikhan thought to himself. _'How did they steal anything from the truck and get away so fast?_' If they were going to take anything worthwhile than it would have had to be unpacked, did they simply attack to kill the officers? It seemed to organized to simply neutralize them, something wasn't right. "Put me on." He ordered to the radio operator, who activated the captains' receiver. "This is Captain Saikhan, what about Squad Four? Are any of them alive?" Perhaps a surviving few had driven them off and were too wounded to report in.

"…Negative Captain." The radioman answered after a pause. "All members of Squad Four are accounted for, their bodies are, are uh, scattered around in pools of blood." Damn. "It looks like they managed to set up some barriers for cover against the street attackers but weren't fast enough to stop the rooftop attack."

"Alright move in and secure the truck, but be careful, something isn't right about this." Saikhan ordered and the radioman gave a firm "Yes sir" and the sound of air rushing past and a grunted landing soon followed. It was relatively quiet for a minute as the patrolmen went to work securing the truck and surrounding area, checking over the bodies of their fallen comrades and looking for any belonging to the opposing side.

"Captain the contents of the truck are untouched; this seems to have just been a random attack." The squad radioman reported in a minute later. Saikhan was about to order a police truck to move in and collect the bodies when the squad radioman began screaming into his receiver, the sound of gunfire and surprised shouts of pain in the background. "Ambush! They were waiting for us in one of the buildings! They collapsed a wall and fired on us!"

"Patrolman what is happening?!" Saikhan demanded to know what was going on. The radioman didn't answer and merely began shouting at his attackers, fighting back with words as much as his wires and earth-bending. Soon he gave a cry of pain and collapsed, the radio crashing to the ground in a wave of feedback and all went silent. "What are the closest units we have in the area?!" Saikhan asked the radio operator through gritted teeth, his nails digging into his palms. The operator made some quick broadcasts and checked the maps in front of him, silently trying to find each units position.

"Squad One, Patrol Cars Three, Nine, and Two are all within a several block radius." That wasn't good, Squad One was down two members and possibly held a traitor and the Patrols never held more than one or two officers, that didn't even match the attacker's numbers.

"What about Squad Two?" Saikhan asked after a moment of deliberation. "Have they finished loading Truck One with the criminals apprehended from the Unagi?" They were down a member but they could push them over the attacker's numbers, if the reports were correct.

"They just finished sir, they're waiting for orders." The radio operator dutifully answered.

"Have them join with the Patrols and go over the rooftops to attack in a semicircle, Squad One will circle around and attack at the rear of the criminals." Saikhan ordered, the cogs turning in his mind. "Have all remaining patrols on standby along with the officers manning the walls separating us from the rest of the city." He was going to surround the enemy and try to break them off into smaller groups, driving them off into the waiting arms of the patrolmen in the neighboring blocks. He didn't know who was leading this little band but he doubted they could manage to remain in control against the overwhelming odds.

"Sir Patrol Car Two is under attack!" The radio operator suddenly announced.

"What?! Connect them through to me!" The speakers came alive with the sound of gunfire and panicked shouting for help by the radioman. "Patrolman what is going on, what has happened?" The patrolmen began shouting what had happened into his receiver while the sound of gunfire striking the metal car frame grew more frequent.

"-We were driving when the ground just came up from below us and flung us into the air! I think they have an earthbender with them! There's only, three, four of them, and only one doesn't have a gun. Ah!" The radioman let out a cry of pain while Saikhan's mind started turning at the implications of this. How did they know where the patrols were going to be coming from, they had shut off the sirens a few hours into the riot, and why did they split their force voluntarily? A group of ten or twelve stood a better chance than several smaller ones who could be picked off. "Captain we got to get out of here! They've got us pinned and- oh spirits!" The radioman exclaimed as the gunfire died down and a low 'thunk' was heard, like something landing on the car. Saikhan was about to ask what had happened when the connection broke with a blast of static and a low rumble reverberated through the air. He turned and looked, along with everyone else in the airship, at the direction the sound came from, catching the next explosion as the gas tank of police car exploded, the blast peaking over the top of a building several blocks away. Soon a plume of smoke rose from the street and Saikhan calmly turned and looked at the radio operator.

"_Can you remind me what was in the trucks stolen cargo_?"

His voice was cold and his eyes pierced through the poor man. The radio operator shuffled through his notes, the pile tumbling to the floor in the process.

"Um… several crates of firearms: Ryû-Revolver pistols, Sentry Carbine-Rifles, and several standard-issue Dao-swords and such, a few containing body armor, and some holding medical supplies and… High and Extreme-potency Blasting Jelly Packs." The operator breathed out the last item on the list, everyone in the airship going pale at it. Saikhan closed his eyes and sighed. This was worse than he thought, if they had and knew how to use basic military-grade weaponry…

"Sir Squad One has spotted the enemy!" The radio operator announced.

"Put them through now!" Saikhan ordered, the speakers coming to life with the sound of air rushing past.

"This is Squad One! We've are in pursuit of two criminals, one has a sword and one has bent some fire at us. They've ducked into an alleyway; we're going to go aft- Augh!" The sound of gunfire erupted and chorus of pained cries came with it, the radioman seemed to have been wounded as he too gave a cry of pain and the sound of a crash soon followed as he fell to the ground.

"Squad One what happened, where are you?" Saikhan demanded from the wounded radioman, who gave a pained grunt before answering.

"They were waiting in the alleyway, a full damn _firing squad_, they cut us down and- Oh spirits! _They're coming_!" The sound of footsteps fell upon him and he gave a roar, the whoosh of his wire blade firing barely audible over his roar, and soon a struggle replaced it. "Ah! Get off me you -gack! Guuhhhh!" There was a bit of feedback as the radio most likely struck the ground and broke.

"Dammit! Where are Patrols Three, Nine, and Squad Two?!" Saikhan demanded angrily from the radio operator, his calm and calculating façade falling.

"They're still on their way to the truck sir they should be there in half a minute." The operator answered, until he held the receiver to his ear and changed his answer. "Sir Patrol Cars Three and Nine are under attack!" The operator connected them before Saikhan even yelled at him to do it.

"Airship they blew our tires! Some waterbender threw some water into the street and bent it into a chain of icicles!" He gave a grunt as the gunfire grew more heated. "We lost a man in the crash and we need back up! They got us pinned down and- GREN-!" He let out a scream and a second later another boom reverberated through the air, larger this time as both of the police cars blew up at the same time.

"Get me Squad Two!" Saikhan demanded from the operator who began to work furiously at his little control station. Soon the Captain was connected to the last remaining squad.

"Sir?" The squad radioman answered.

"Cancel your current orders; the patrols you were meant to meet up with have been neutralized. Pull back and rejoin with the airship." He ordered and dropped his shoulders in defeat. This was the worst disaster in the Metalbending Police Forces history. Never before had so many officers been killed in action or were wounded in such a short amount of time or so many civilians harmed, and don't even get started on the property damage.

_'Who am I dealing with?_' He thought to himself, these tactics didn't match the Equalist's. They fought with chi blockers, preferring to neutralize their opponents through nonlethal means, and didn't wage _open war_ in the streets, they fought in back alleys and in the minds of the people with propaganda and rallies. _'What if this is something new?_' This disturbed him more than the idea that the Equalist's were beginning to become serious in their revolutionary ideals. He didn't know if Republic City could take another madman like Amon running around, hell even that wasn't right, Amon hadn't committed any serious criminal acts before, just some vigilantism against bending gangs and the occasional corrupt police officer. But these people… they were organized, they weren't afraid to kill to avoid capture, and whoever was leading them was good, it was like they were, were… _'Terrorists_!' Saikhan thought with a dull horror.

This was bad, if there was a terrorist cell setting up in Republic City than it needed to be eliminated immediately before they could make use of the poison gas capsule and he couldn't let any of their members get away. He would need to pull out all the stops.

"Is he willing to talk yet?" Saikhan asked to the radio operator, who looked confused for a moment before realizing who he was referring to.

"They said that he was still holding out when they last reported in." Well he was just going to have to give the man what he wanted and damn the consequences.

"Move us to over Truck Two." He commanded the airships pilot and the ship began its near silent flight over the docks. "Warn all patrols to be on high alert and to report in at the first sign of trouble and tell Squad Two to meet us at our destination." The airship flew for a few minutes before it came to a stop above a lone police truck in the street below and Saikhan descended down to the street, leaving the protection of the airship for the first time that night.

"Sir, he still hasn't said anything and we're having a harder time keeping him awake." The commander of the few officers said when he met the captain, leading him towards the truck.

"I just need him awake long enough to strike a deal." Saikhan responded, ignoring the look on the commanders' face. He step into the truck and looked at the man on his knees, his hands cuffed behind his back and red suit badly torn and burned. The man's face was swollen and bruised, bleeding from fresh wounds delivered during the police's interrogations, and there were burn wounds all over his arms, legs, and head, most of his hair gone. Saikhan kneeled before the man, who only stared at him with his one eye, the other having swollen shut, and said "I want to know who it is leading these people. Tell me, and I'll give you whatever you want."

"Now why would you wanna know that?" Nezumi asked through his broken teeth and gave a crooked, bleeding smile.

0-0-0

Nezumi had been hurt before, came with his job where it seemed most negotiations ended in a fistfight, but never had he dreamed he'd be in as much pain as he was in right now. The explosion and fire had been bad, his suit catching fire and searing his skin, but when the police had "rescued" him from the blaze things didn't get much better. He had endured the beatings, constantly restating that no, he hadn't hid the poison gas capsule and yes, there had been a broad inside the damn thing all along. When they brought out the knives he had bitten a piece of his tongue off to stop himself from screaming; only reaffirming his story when they asked him again. He couldn't stop himself from screaming when they cut off some of his fingers.

He knew things were bad for the cops, he heard the rioting outside the truck while they interrogated him, his guards leaving once to deal with the rioters when they got to close. He didn't know what had happened to Duōyí or the chick, his interrogators refused to say, only answering with a backhand to the face, or what had happened to the rest of his little band of merry thieves, that was boot to the head. He drifted in and out of consciousness for a while, the interrogators usually having him healed back to consciousness before beginning the whole process again. But this time he hadn't woken up to his tortures but to some middle aged bastard in a fancier suit of armor, still a cop but an important one he guessed. Then he asked him a question he hadn't been expecting.

"I want to know who it is leading these people. Tell me, and I'll give you whatever you want." Now that was interesting, all the questions before had been about the poison gas capsule and who he was working for, that he had answered because right now the Equalist's were the least of his worries. But apparently there was someone kicking the cop's asses pretty hard, hard enough to force some high and mighty officer to strike a bargain with him. Maybe it was…?

"Now why would you wanna know that?" He asked through his broken teeth. It hurt to talk, hell it hurt to breathe, but if he was going to get out of here then he needed to put on his business face, the one he used to bullshit his way through hundreds of deals before.

"I will be frank; the remnants of your heist have suddenly begun fighting back and have been doing a very good job at it. I entered the docks with roughly sixty men, and there's a very real possibility that half of them are dead or wounded because of them." Oh that was a good reason; he could get a lot if what he was suspected was true. Maybe even get off with a slap on the wrist if he played his cards right. But if who he thought was leading them then he doubted they could do anything. If they pushed D-man this far then he must be pissed, they won't be getting out of this unscathed.

The thing was that D-man was normally really cool-headed and didn't give kill orders. Even when things got rough, D would just find a way to cut and run. So why would he… Nezumi remembered how the cops butchered his boys as he drove the truck. Then he remembered just how insane these cops were and how the non-benders were… culled.

Well, well! Looks like D-man was finally stepping up. The guy had too much honor and caution to really delve into the criminal underworld. So he finally reaches his full potential when he genuinely hates the enemy. Damn, why couldn't someone make him snap earlier? Either way…

"Ah, that is interesting, but what makes you think that I know who has taken over my little band of hell raisers?" He put on his winning smile, probably horrifying now because of all his broken teeth.

"Because you were the one in charge," the old cop stated, "you and this 'Mystery Voice' character." Shit, they must have put the spurs to some of his boys, none of them knew D-man's actual identity but they knew he had equal billing in the heist.

"True, true. But my associate and I have very loose business arrangements; I rarely ever talk to him, let alone meet him."

"Strange, one of my squads reported you were arguing with a young man of clear Water Tribe ancestry about countering his orders to get the capsule. Before you tried to blow them and yourself up." Well fuck, this old bastard was sharper than he expected.

"Alright you caught me, just tryin' to look out for a business partner you know?" He flashed his jagged smile again.

"No, because none of my 'partners' actively wage war on officers of the law with terrorism." Jeez no wonder this guy was so far up the police ladder, he probably shoved it up his ass to get this stiff. "Now if you don't mind we have no times for games, name your conditions." What was he serious? He was just gonna give them to him? D must have really knocked off half of these bastards to get them like this. Good for him, well, good for him and Nezumi if the geezer was telling the truth.

"I want you to let me go. I want a clean slate." After the shit he'd pulled tonight it seemed like that alone was pushing it.

"I can't do that." He didn't give Nezumi a chance to speak before he resumed. "What I _can_ do is speak for you in court, pull some strings and get you considerable time off for assisting the police in such dire times. You'll get out of a minimal security prison in a year, maybe two. I can even arrange it so where you will not be treated to stop you from spreading your trouble making genes." Shit, that was a pretty good deal considering what he would have gotten otherwise, probably another round with his interrogators and then a quick death in a back alley, declared killed in the rioting. He pretended to consider the offer for a minute before agreeing.

"Good, get up."

Nezumi shakily rose to his feet, his legs screaming in pain. The old cop went around behind and uncuffed him, grabbing his arm and walking him forward, out the truck and into the predawn light. "We can talk in the airship; I'm going to need to know exactly where you believe he'll be hiding."

"If he still got the maps I gave him it could be anywhere. But…" he really didn't want to sell out D, but he had to give them something. "If not, then it probably would be somewhere out of the way where he can see everything, he's got a whole 'higher level thinking' thing going on."

The old bastard stopped in his tracks and snapped his head in the direction of a rather high building and gave a growled "Of course." Soon he lifted Nezumi up into the airship and let him lean against one of the windows in the ship so he could watch the passing buildings below.

D had better not be there for his own sake, because if this geezer wasn't going to really cut a deal then he would be better of dead. And if anyone could take the geezer down with him, it would be D. Damn, of all the times to get soft…

0-0-0

They were onto him. Things had been going better than he could have expected, the police falling into his traps relying on the same tactics they used to fight regular criminals with. Duōyí had exploited this inability to adapt and began hitting them when they were there most vulnerable, striking when they wouldn't be immediately available to raise defenses or respond fast enough to stop the attack. When they backed off after he had almost simultaneously destroyed their patrols he had taken the moment to take a breather and begin planning the actual escape part of his plan. But now the captain in charge was beginning to amass his forces, even pulling officers guarding the wall surrounding the docks for one final push. Which means that they suspected where he was, and he needed to decide what to do.

He could continue the fight but it would be dawn soon and he doubted that they wouldn't call in reinforcements eventually, but if he pulled out too soon he may lose his chance to interrogate the metalbending captain and get some answers. He knew that his pieces were getting tired as well, they were beginning to grumble at their orders and he needed to find a way to get them out, he had plans to make use of the more valuable ones later.

"All units move in and surround the area around the crashed truck! Secure the office building!" Ah, that was a far stupider move than he had thought they'd pull, sending every available unit to the same spot in some mad rush to defeat him. So they guessed where he was, well then they just forced his hand. Luckily he had been preparing for them to make a move like this.

"Attention, the police are going to be on our position in a matter of minutes, now is the time to make your escape." Duōyí ordered into his radio, switching the frequencies as he began putting on his metalbender suit once again.

"What? What about you?" The girl from G-5 asked from her group hidden in an alleyway a few blocks away.

"I still have some business to attend to before I make my exit, but there is nothing else that you all can do. Don't worry, I'll ensure they don't follow you." He assured the female firebender.

"But-" She was going to argue but the loud mouth from her former group interrupted.

"He's letting us off hot-shot, just take his word for it so we can get the hell out of here!" That one's group was the closest; they were hiding in a nearby building and had been making supply runs to the others from the truck. It was a non-bender who had been the only one to grab a sword as well as a gun.

"Enough." He ordered as he slipped on the suit. "G-2 how are the preparations coming?"

"Um… we're almost done over here, just another minute and we'll be done." The nervous one answered, his group was directly below him several floors down.

"Are you sure you've set them properly?" It was crucial that they went off without any complications, if not then he would have to find another way to get his answers.

"Um, yeah… we placed them where you said and did all the wiring and stuff." The nervous one answered; worried that he may have screwed up something so important to his survival.

"Good, then everyone begin following these directions..." Duōyí then gave an explanation of how they were to escape, avoiding the police and using the lack of guards on the walls to their advantage. As he watched the little shapes of his men run off to safety he switched the radio back onto the police frequency and slung it onto his back. Soon police cars and trucks flooded the streets, officers swinging in on their wires and landing on the ground, rushing to the alleyways for cover. He began moving down the stairs before they made their move inside before he got to the floor that G-2 had previously been in.

The explosives had been planted inside the walls thanks to the earthbending of the nervous one from G-5 and they had left the plungers inside the room itself. One was to the explosives in the building and could be carried out, using radio waves to be detonated remotely, while the other led outside, to the explosive planted in the sewers and tunnels under the street.

Duōyí watched as the street filled with patrol cars and trucks, the officers hiding behind them in fear of the long gone criminals. He idly rubbed the detonator button, watching and waiting until they began to move to secure the building before acting. When the police airship arrived and came to stop above them he knew the time was perfect and he pressed the button.

For the briefest moments nothing happened and he feared that something had gone wrong until the ground burst upward, spewing fire and rock into the sky. The entirety of the building he was in shook and the windows in front of him shattered from the force of the blast, forcing him to send a gust of air at the shards so none struck him. Cars and trucks were flung into the air and came crashing down on top of the scrambling police officers, those who weren't already dead from the force of the blast or on fire. Some of them managed to erect stone barriers to protect themselves from the falling debris but most weren't as lucky as the ground gave way and collapsed in on itself, sinking them all into a large hole, dust kicking up everywhere and blinding everyone.

Duōyí gave a triumphant laugh as the dust settled and the carnage came into view, most of the police officers were dead or buried under the debris, and all of the vehicles were unusable torn up hunks of burning scrap now. _'I can do it_!' He thought triumphantly, a savage edge to his inner voice. _'I can fight them. I can beat them! No_…' he realized, clenching his fists and grinning, _'I can DESTROY them_!' His grin grew wider as the airship lowered itself to the hole and the few men inside began getting out to help the officers, they were playing right into his hand.

He grabbed the other detonator and began running through the office buildings hallways and down the stairs, trying to not let exhaustion from the strenuous activity stop him. When he emerged outside, hugging the wall so as to remain hidden from view, he found the few remaining officers picking through the rubble, trying to find anyone still alive, using their earthbending to lift the debris and move them around. In the center of the carnage stood an older man barking orders at everyone, his demeanor showed an odd mixture of fury, horror, and defeat.

_'That must be Captain Saikhan_.' He matched the description the officer had given him and seemed to be the man in charge. Duōyí set the detonator down on the ground and pulled his riot mask down over his face and started walking towards the gaping hole in the street. He slid down a piece of rubble and walked past some metalbending officers to busy moving some rubble to notice him and got within ten feet of the Captain before he noticed him.

"What are you doing just standing around officer?!" The captain yelled at him, enraged at the loss before him. "We've got to get these men out of the rubble as fast as possible!"

"Sir what about the criminals? They may still be in the area." Duōyí asked, the men around him, only half a dozen or so, turned to watch the exchange.

"We'll have to call off the hunt for now, this, this madness!" He gestured around them at the wreckage, "Was obviously a last resort, something to keep us busy while they escaped. And as much as I hate to admit it, it's worked. We will get them though." Saikhan stated with a hard edge to his voice. "No one who has done this can hide from the law, and then justice will be done."

"Is it justice to kill innocent civilians like animals? To slaughter and terrorize them simply because they are not as high on the ladder as yourself and won't be missed? To have those who committed these crimes deaths be seen as a national tragedy?" Duōyí asked with sharp edge to his voice. "If this is the justice of the United Republic of Nations then I see what needs to be done about it." He took off his riot helmet and glared at Captain Saikhan, violet irises shining in the pre morning light. "And this is far from my last resort."

"You're the-" Saikhan gaped in surprise at revelation that the man who had been terrorizing his men all night and had caused mass chaos was a mere boy who looked barely out of his teenage years. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing boy but-"

"I assure you, I am playing no game." Duōyí interrupted him and turned to look at the gathered metalbenders, who had started to move closer to him after he revealed his identity. "I would like to speak to the Captain alone, so I order you all to go and wait in the airship until I say otherwise. Stop anyone inside who tries to leave or make contact with anyone else." He cast his power out onto the men and they stood still for a moment before they donned pleasant smiles and nodded. A game? This was no game, innocents don't _die_ in mere games. Pieces are limited to a constant board and rules were set in a _game_. If this mess was a 'game' though, Duōyí had won.

"Sure thing." One of them acknowledged and they collectively walked over to the airship and began loading themselves in.

"What?! Why are you listening to him?! Get back here all of you!" Saikhan demanded from his few officers who just ignored him and continued on their way. He turned and glared furiously at Duōyí "What have you done to them?"

"I merely gave them an order, though I admit their following it wasn't their choice." Duōyí smiled and pulled out his acquired pistol and pointed it at the Captain, who didn't seem fazed about the metal weapon being leveled at him. "Now you're going to answer some of my questions."

"Like hell I will! If you think a terrorist like you can make m-"

"As with your men Captain, you _also_ don't have a choice." He activated his power and gazed directly into the man's eyes. "Now why was it so important for you to go to such extreme lengths to regain the capsule?" Saikhan went still for a moment before his shoulders sagged and his face slackened.

"I was ordered to guard it and make sure that it reached its destination safely. It was imperative that the capsule did not fall into the hands of the Equalist's." He answered with a flat voice, his eyes unfocused and staring out into space.

"Why was it so important to keep it out of the hands of the Equalist's? What was the United Republic going to use the girl for?" He doubted that the Captain was privy to that information but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"I do not know, he did not tell me what the gas was to be used for or that a girl may be inside. But keeping it out of the Equalist's hands was the only thing that concerned me so I did not push for more information." Saikhan explained.

"Who didn't explain everything? Who was it that ordered this?" Duōyí asked, curious for the real mastermind behind this.

"Councilman Tarrlok." Saikhan revealed. "He asked me to meet with him this morning and explained the situation. He also asked that I keep the extra police personnel secret from Chief Beifong for as long as possible."

_'So the Northern Water Tribe councilman, with apparent ties to the United Republic military, is behind this? How deep does this go?_' Duōyí wondered to himself. "Why did he want to keep Chief Beifong from knowing about it?"

"Lin can be… abrasive." Saikhan admitted, the flat tone of his voice making the admittance sound odd. "She would have immediately wanted to know everything about the cargo, its manufacturer, destination, and purpose. Councilman Tarrlok knew I would not ask for this information and contacted me."

"What was its destination?" Just who the girl was meant for was becoming a bigger question.

"I was ordered to guard the capsule and, when it was loaded for transport, escort it out of the city where a caravan of United Republic forces would be waiting." He explained.

"And after that?" Duōyí asked, but the Captain didn't answer him, merely staring out at space. '_He doesn't know.'_ Well that was a dead end, but there was still one more thing… "Why are you so convinced that the Equalist's are the ones behind all this?"

"Your accomplice confirmed it." Duōyí gave a start at that.

"Nezumi is alive?" The explosion had been so large and he had barely gotten away before the roof collapsed, Nezumi had been injured and could barely stand so how could have he made it out of there?

"We pulled him out of the wreckage and set about interrogating him. He proved resistant to naming his accomplices but did admit that he had been paid by the Equalist's to steal the capsule. The weapons and other items were just a smokescreen to hide its theft, and be sold later on the black market or to local gangs."

"_Just stick to the plannin' D-man. You'll be better off that way." _He remembered Nezumi saying that to him almost a full day ago inside his new Satomobile. Spirits, had it really only been one night? The sun would be rising any minute now. "Where is he?" If they had Nezumi back at their headquarters then all of this would have been for nothing, he would eventually reveal who his accomplices were.

"He's inside the airship. I had him brought along when he agreed to reveal what little he knew about you and you're likely hiding spot after we made a deal for his freedom. He slipped into unconsciousness before we arrived here from his wounds." Duōyís' hand tightened around his pistol and he gritted his teeth. Nezumi had sold him out! He should have expected him to but Nezumi had been pissed at the police for the killing of his boys, actually agreeing to a deal with one of them must have been easier after they spent all that time "interrogating" him. He could understand Nezumi, but that didn't mean he forgave him. He should have cut and run when he had been told to. But now…

"Thank you for all your help." Duōyí gave a deep sigh before donning a small pleasant smile as he holstered his gun. "Now I need you to do one more thing..."

0-0-0

"-e do anything you've got another thing com-" Saikhan stopped mid rant and looked around, he was alone in the ruined street, the burning cars still aflame and the bodies of his men still crushed under the rubble. _'Where did he go?_' That damned terrorist had been standing right in front of him and now he was gone! Saikhan looked up at the airship above him and growled, launching his wire into it and loading himself inside.

"What the hell was that?!" He demanded from his remaining officers, who collectively remained standing and didn't answer him. "Where did the terrorist go?!" He grabbed one of his men and shook him, the man's head just shaking along with his body. Saikhan saw the passed out Nezumi sitting against the wall and stormed over to him, punching the unconscious man in the face to awaken him.

"Why didn't you tell me he could do that?!" He yelled pointing at his useless officers, who merely stared into space. Nezumi gave a pained cry and crashed to the ground and glared up at the captain.

"Do what?!" Nezumi asked angrily and then followed the man's pointed finger to the gathered officers. "The hell's wrong with them?"

"That's what I want to know." Saikhan said through gritted teeth. He then tore himself away from the beaten man on the ground and moved to the radio, the operator among the hypnotized officers. "We need to get an APB out on that bastard and call in more units. Maybe if we GAHH!" He let out a cry when a bladed wire shot into the radio and destroyed it, the machine breaking in a shower of sparks. The wire retracted back into the wrist guard of one of the possessed officers.

"No attempts at contact can be made." He stated flatly, his eyes and face blank and unresponsive. Saikhan would have yelled at the officer if not for the sudden sound of explosions and cracking concrete, the entire airship bucking and shaking at the force of the bombs. Saikhan rushed to the window of the airship, Nezumi rising to his feet and staggering after him. The high building they had been hovering in front of had its supports blown up from the inside and was beginning to fall, cracks spreading along the concrete and breaking pieces off. Soon the building gave a resounding crack and broke, its body breaking off and beginning to fall to the ground. The airship was in the middle of its path.

"You crazy son of an eagle-wolf..." Saikhan heard Nezumi whisper to himself in almost… awe? The captain had an instant to be confused by that reaction before the building crashed into the airship, blowing the fuel in the tank and crushing them all. Across the city people watched as a building fell in the port, the fiery blaze from the airship being smothered by the dust cloud that kicked up when it crashed. The ground gave a shake when it landed, comparable to a small earthquake, and the airships hovering outside the ports began to finally move in, against the previous orders of the council, although most would agree later that they no longer applied.

And over the rising dust, burning buildings, and ringing sirens, the sun finally dawned.

0-0-0


End file.
